Ties of Blood, Ties of oil
by Wizard of Wack
Summary: As an Armada of renegade Cluster sweeps the galaxy for their lost queen and Vega attempts to keep the Cluster empire from dissolving into civil war, Jenny matches wits with an enigmatic hacker.
1. Chapter 1

Ties of Blood, Ties of Oil

A "My life as a teenage robot" Fanfic

Chapter 1:

In which Nora Wakeman leaves for a Convention and we learn that All is not well with the Cluster

The clouds above the town of Tremorton were a fiery orange in the setting sun on a quiet Sunday afternoon. In a lonely garage along side the ordered streets of the heart of the town, a taxi engine roared to life with a sputtering cadence. It reversed out into a street, and began to drive at a leisurely, but steady, pace down the road. It drove from the tidy streets of downtown between intersections and over hills to the wandering streets of the residential neighborhoods. As it trundled down street after street, it at last it came to a slow stop in front of a house. The driver leaned over to check the address. It was the right one, he noted with some satisfaction.

The house was similar to the others on its street. It was angular with a faded white look, and windows were made in a particularly sharp style. There were a few differences though. For one thing, the lawn was just a bit unkempt, and the driver thought he could make out scorch marks on it. _Crazy kids_ he thought, _what is it with kids and fire?_ On its second story a room could be seen through a massive screen of windows, and if the driver of the taxi was paying attention he perhaps would have noticed that the room within was adorned like a teenaged girls, even though it did have an inordinately large number of monitors inside it.

The taxi settled onto the side of the street and shifted into a park. The driver casually shut off its engine. The driver rolled down his window and let his arm hang out of it, so that it could gently rock back and forth in the breeze. He grabbed a pulp novel with his left hand and began to read. Faintly, he believed he could hear sounds from inside. Possibly people he thought idly. He wasn't sure though, one voice sounded a little artificial.

* * *

X-J9 had thought of many pleasurable things in her life. They were simple things most times. Like a moonlit rendezvous with a handsome boy, or being with the in crowd, maybe being able to say out later. The idea of not being made of a titanium alloy and rather a sleeker silver compound had once crossed her mind. In all honesty it was a credit to her processor, consequently with all the daydreaming she had done. Most of these reveries were blessedly attainable. They were even so sought after that Jenny had composed an electronic list which was stored on her hard drive. She looked forward to slowly checking each item off with long and luxuriated strokes (Metaphorically speaking of course).

As anyone might guess, some of her daydreams were unattainable. Chief among these improbables was being completely human, being in the entourage' of popular singing sensation _Men to Boyz (It was spelled with a Z, so you knew they were extra edgy) _and being constructed in the 1970's (When she was newly constructed, she had developed a strange fascination with the era). For these there was no list, except perhaps for a buried thought log floating around in her CPU. She did not need a list, so she mused at times, for she always would carry them in her heart (Or her Lubricant pump, as the case might have been)

So imagine her surprise when one would come true.

"You're going out of town again?" Jenny asked Nora Wakeman in the foyer of the Wakeman house with an increasingly incredulous voice "And you're not taking me with you?"

Nora adjusted her glasses with her shoulder, bending her wrinkled neck as she lugged two large suitcases across the floor "XJ-9" Nora said with stressed syllables, pronouncing the name more like, Ex-Jay-Niyun, rather than its actual phonetic equivalent. "I have told you already the situation, Perhaps it might behoove you to listen to your mother once in a while, Hmmmm?"

Jennies' face screwed up into an exasperated contortion and an irritated sigh escaping her lips "Moooom, I pay attention to you"

"Really" Nora's terse voice replied "Then where am I going, if you pay such great attention?"

"Mom, I never said I-" Jenny began, but the words turned into an exasperated growl as she caught Nora's' eye "-Arrrgh! Fine. You're going to some convention thingy, something about a planet or something"

"Not a planet XJ-9, a panel, a very prestigious panel in fact. I have been asked to participate in the Earth Sciences Convention for five years now, and finally they gave me a reason to be happy about it." Nora returned to lugging her bags "Conventional application of advanced AI, that's what the panels about you know-"

"Yeah, I know" said Jenny her eyes rolling in her eye sockets, making gentle rattling noises as they did.

"-And I am the leading authority on the subject you know-"

"I know"

"-And if I don't show up they're going to give the spot to Mogg-"

"I know mother"

Nora looked at Jenny with a narrowed eye "Oh, and I suppose you know your assignment then"

Jenny looked back at her mother with a slightly petulant look "An assignment? Mom it's the end of school, its summer Mom, remember? Summer? You know, the time when all the teens hang out together?"

"XJ-9 I am familiar with 'summer' but hanging out does not take precedence over the safety of the world"

"But Mooommmm-"

"Abububub!" Dr. Wakeman said, her finger held high to forestall any teenaged complaints "I will not here any more of this young robot. Now if you insist on making a scene like this I am just going to have to take you with me won't I?"

Jenny clapped her hands over her mouth in horror "You wouldn't"

"I would, and I will if this keeps up" the doctor declared "Now follow me to my lab"

"Fine" Jenny grumbled and trudged after her mother, her metallic boots clomping heavily and creating a great reverberating noise, even through the carpet.

Eventually they reached Nora's lab. It was a chaotic and disheveled place and full of the smell of smoke (Really Jenny couldn't smell, but she could register elements floating in the air)._ Someone's been soldering _Jenny mused_ and she tells me to keep my room clean, feh. _Jenny herself thought it amazing that such an old woman like her mother could keep from injuring herself in this deathtrap, but Nora knew this place well and nimbly stepped around various piles of clutter like a mountain goat. They passed several stacks of files and papers, some sp precariously stacked that they threatened to come tumbling down at even the faintest touch. Ultimately they came to a table with a sleek and small computer chip nestled in a black box on top of it.

Jenny curiously glanced at the chip, "Mom, what's that supposed to be for?"

"This, Jenny, is the _Sustained Engram Emitting Repeater_, or the S.E.E.R for short."

Right" Jenny said a little cautiously "So what's it do?"

"Ohh this is a good one. It allows you to project your consciousness into the internet. But this is not a toy X-J9!"

Jenny's pigtails whirred quizzically upward "Why do I need it if its not to surf the web?"

Dr. Wakeman began fiddling with the S.E.E.R with a soldering iron and made a few last minute adjustments in bright blue flashes "Its part of that assignment I mentioned XJ-9. I originally designed you to fight corporeal crime, aliens, zombies and the like. I left cyber-crime to the police. But-" Nora said switching a lever on the chip "-recently there has been some Hacker breaking into sensitive areas of the United Nations database. More accurately though, the sections that deal with the Cluster"

"The Cluster? Who would want to know about that? Vexus was kicked out a like three months ago. And Vega's in charge now anyway. If they really wanted to know about the Cluster they could just ask"

Nora rubbed her chin thoughtfully "That's what worries me X-J9. Whoever wants that data can only be up to no good. The new Cluster government is young, and though it has full support of its citizens, its military is something else entirely. I think someone on earth might want to manipulate that delicate political climate, and oh is it delicate. In any case this device allows you to replicate what a VR setup can do for a human by appropriating your dream chip. Normally, I wouldn't trust you to meld with the internet normaly, with all those viruses floating around, but I trust those clowns at skyway patrol less. Now be a dear and let me install it."

Jenny spun her head in a full 180 degrees, and a maintenance hatch opened behind her head. Reaching in deeply, Nora installed the S.E.E.R with a muffled grunt "Good, fits perfectly. Now, Every time a breach is detected in the computer system a alarm will go of on the monitor frequency, so you'll need to get right on that, but as for now I need to get going. Can't keep the taxi waiting forever can I? Now remember I'll only be gone four days OK? Oils in the fridge, and I rented some of those movies you like. And please be more careful than you usually are X-J9. I don't want to spend another afternoon repairing your antivirus software" a Honk sounded outside. "Ooh! That's the Taxi. I need to get going." Nora said heading to the door "Try to keep out of trouble won't you?" Jenny waved "See you Mom, have fun at your panel or whatever!" Nora opened the door and left.

Jenny did a silent impromptu dance. _Ooh I have the house all to myself; this is going to be so great! _She thought through her gyrations. Indeed, it was looking like it would be a very good four days at the least. She continued dancing as the taxi puttered away. She continued dancing to the fridge, grabbed a can of oil, and sauntered up to her room. She waltzed to her bed, and let herself fall back with a contented sigh onto the bed. She popped the lid of the oil can and took a refreshing draught as her mattresses springs groaned in protest. This was going to be a great few days, even with school.

"Hey Jen, What's up?"

Jenny glanced up to see a 15 year old boy climb through her window. He was of a pale complexion, and wore a vest and a dress shirt. The shirt was not tucked in and its tails stuck out at asymmetrical angles. His most notable feature might have been his spiky red hair.

"Hey Brad," Jenny said casually and glanced around "where's Tuck?" She asked in a bit of confusion. Tuck, Brads younger sibling stuck like glue to Brad most of the time, so Brad being on his own was just a bit of an oddity.

Brad leaned on a wall and shrugged "I told him there was a treasure buried under his school, he should be gone for an hour at least" Jenny giggled, and Brad continued "So where's your Mom going? I saw her leave in a Taxi?"

"Oh that. she's going to some big convention for four days."

"Wow, really? So the house is all yours?"

"As all mine as it can be"

"You have an unsupervised house? Do you know what that means?" Brad began enthusiastically "Time to Par-tay! And now she's gone for even longer, Score!" he ended the sentence with an exited whoop.

Jenny got up from her bed, which let out a groan of bending springs "Oh no you don't. Last time we had a party at my place, half of the student body nearly threw themselves over a cliff, and before that they almost caused the Minutians to succeed in their invasion."

Brad smiled "Geez Jenny, lighten up. It's just a party, nothing can go wrong"

"I'm not falling for that again Brad, no parties at my house. It's just going to be me and relaxation" She stressed the syllables of the last word.

"If you feel that way Jenny." Brad said, attempting to place a beleaguered expression on his face "Anyway, I was on my way to Sheldon's. He needs some help moving some stuff down to his garage, and I can not wait to get my hands on some blackmail material"

Jenny cocked an eyebrow "You're evil, you know that?"

"I like to think I do my part"

Jenny sat back down on the bed. "I think I'll pass Brad, I just wasn't to take a load off my mind without my Mom getting all crazy.

Brad climbed out the window again and descended to the earth below but not before calling out, "You don't know what you're missing Jen!" He walked back to the street, his hands in his pockets. He really had wished Jenny had come along; hanging out with Sheldon for extended period of time could be strange. Brad shuddered involuntarily and hoped Sheldon didn't try and rope him into playing that whole _Drakes and Dungeons_ game again. Besides, Jenny was a superhero, she could get that room cleaned faster than anyone he knew, and he wouldn't need to lift a finger. Also, it was always worth a laugh to she Jenny give Sheldon a beating for some of his more "creepy" pursuits. _I wonder if his Jenny shrine is still up. _Brad thought, and resolved to find out as soon as he got to Sheldon's.

He was so absorbed in thinking to himself that he failed to notice a car pull up next to him. "Excuse me boy, but do you know where Tremorton high is?" came a voice from the cars window. It was rough, and had a hint of an accent to it, though for the life in him Brad couldn't place it. Brad looked over and saw a man leaning out the window to address him. The man was an older man, somewhere around 40 or 45 years of age. He had black, graying hair which traveled down the side of his face to a graying goatee. He wore thin spectacles on his pale and wrinkling face. Brad noted with some interest that the man was dressed unseasonably warm, complete with a trench coat and scarf. His expression was quizzical, but it had an edge to it, and looked like he was not in the mood for mischief.

"Sure I know where Tremorton high is" Brad said with a air of practiced coolness "Just keep on following this street down to Maple, and then take a left until Jefferson. You can't miss it"

The older man eyed brad critically before breaking out into a smile "Thanks kid, I'll put in a good word for ya." he said with a wink and began driving down the street. Brad waited for a few moments and then began the walk towards Sheldon's. _That was weird_ Brad thought. He pushed it from his mind, it wasn't that important. Besides, there was blackmail material for the taking a few blocks down.

* * *

"My Queen, the last shipment of humans has launched back to Earth"

"Good, it will be a nice diplomatic branch to return my mothers slaves" Vega mused as she sat. The throne where she rested was massive with inlays of gold and precious jewels, looking out over the assembled court of Clusters aristocracy. Vega fussed in the seat. She had meant to have the thing melted down for parts, but she just couldn't get around to doing it. It was the last relic her mother had left behind after all.

The coup for Cluster Prime had been quick, and nearly without conflict. Vega had wanted a new government. She fancied a republic herself, with each planet in the empire having representatives on Cluster Prime. The citizens would have none of it; however, and despite her protestations she had become the new Empress of Cluster Prime. A flicker of a giggle flashed through Vegas circuits. Perhaps she had wanted to have this happen deep down. Now she was respected, powerful even. Of course she was just, but all that power at her fingertips was just a bit intoxicating; and in court, that feeling increased by ten fold

She had sat through Cluster Court for three months now, and it was beginning to wear on her. This particular court was not really helping the feeling anyway. _How did Mom put up with this? _Vega wondered silently as she waited for the Aristocracy to address her, one by one, and expect ruling on their problems, both petty and great.

For a highly evolved civilization, Cluster government was still in the dark ages as far as earth was concerned. Literally. Robots, living for essentially indefinite spans of time, were slow to change. They would refine, upgrade, and innovate, but drastic changes were few and far between. For now, the Cluster was ruled as it had always been, as a feudalistic government. Rights and property descended from the queen to a select few Noble families, who then would delegate their power to other families down a unending chain of robots. It had worked excellently under the economic grease of Slave labor, but now with the slaves on nearly all of the Clusters many assimilated planets were released, the well oiled machine of the Cluster was beginning to rust. Vega wanted to change that. She was young, practically an infant by conventional robot reckoning (A fact that had earned her the unofficial title of "The Child Queen" by the masses) and out of everyone in the Cluster empire, she saw the need for change. The Empire was going through growing pains, and Vega was damned if she was just going to let the empire fall apart from something as trivial as that.

Vega's optics noticed that the herald had not left yet. Rather, he stood nervously, he gears grinding together with audible strain. "What is it?" asked Vega.

The herald made a quick bow "Excuse me my queen, but I have other news. I am afraid it is not, ah, optimal." He straightened and continued "The Earth government in collision with the Mars Republic demand reparations for the crimes done to their citizens, totaling no less than six billion credits." Vega listened passively. She had expected something like that. The Herald continued "Even more distressing is the outlying Colonies of Velix 4, Aston, and Dar Fel. As of 0400 hours they refused to acknowledge your leadership and have declared themselves a sovereign nation, called the Confederation of independent planets."

Vega had not expected that at all "What? What reason would they have?" she said, her voice incredulous.

The herald dipped his head in deference "I do not no my queen. Their dispatch declared that they have never received adequate treatment from the Cluster, and they believe that as a Confederation of planets that they would be better off not paying taxes to a new regime. They were excruciatingly polite my queen and they hope that they could open trading relations."

"They are fools!" a mechanical voice bellowed from behind the queen, and Gerzon, an elderly robot, stepped forth. In his youth he had been a judge, and after the fall of the Cluster hegemony Vega had found him a loyal and indispensable member of her court. He was a barrel chested robot, with a stunning finish of chrome despite his age. "To think that they can simply leave the Cluster and expect us to be all 'Oh sure, go ahead'? This is madness!" He turned to Vega "This must be stopped at once Vega. If the other colonies see this they will take it as an invitation to join with these treasonous vermin"

Vega looked back at Gerzon "Be quiet Gerzon. I know how serious this is, and I will address it at an appropriate time, not before. A Council will be formed to deal with this threat." Gerzon stood erect, grinding his lower mandible "Of course my queen"

Vega sighed inwardly. Gerzon was brave, strong and reliable. He was quick to laugh, and quick to forgive. On the other hand though, he had a terrifyingly short fuse and a vicious protective streak when it came to the Cluster nation; and as far as Gerzon was convinced, Vega _was _the Cluster. She knew he only wanted the best for the Cluster, but he was always treating her like a child. She was 16 damn it, and was just as smart as anyone.

The Herald continued. "In addition, the Military is slow to respond to our summons home. The responses that they have returned have been curt and uninformative. There is a general sentiment that they are not coming back."

Vega acknowledged this with a nod. The Cluster military was an entirely different automation than the rest of the Cluster. They were built for one thing, and one thing only, combat. It was unlikely that without extensive reprogramming that they could ever function in peacetime, and reprogramming them would be a devastating attack on their, and every other Cluster citizens, rights. Vega even wondered if they did reprogram them, if they could ever get close enough to do it. Most of the drones were nothing more than hunks of metal with a motherboard and some servos, and while most were able to have personalities, they also were dumb as a post. But there were other robots in the Cluster military, robots strong and cunning, almost feral in comparison to other robots. Others were cold and calculating, and as unmoving as a mountain. And some, some were never allowed to set foot on any Cluster planet, ever.

The Herald gathered his breath, a useless theatric, given he did not need to breath "Also, in the chaos of the succession, for the first time in five hundred years we are experiencing terrorist activities. Today at 0600 hours a payload of three hundred kilos of explosive was deployed in a central communications hub. Half of the city went out of action. We reported 12 wounded, 24 disabled, and 3 permanently deactivated. Eyewitness reports say it was a self destruct sequence from a robot. We have yet to confirm his identity" A gasp was heard in the empty throne room, and to Vegas surprise it was hers. "The Police suspect it was, ah, a diversion."

Through the horror of her own citizens killing each other Vega couln't help but think _this is going to be a heavy blow to the golden chippers'. _Everyone loved having their golden computer chips installed, but there were some that feared them to. Turning every citizen of Cluster prime into a walking missile platform was just too dangerous, they said. They should be restricted, or outlawed, or any other manner of things. Vega believed in every robots right to be in control of their body, but this atrocity was beginning to sway her.

The throne room filled with nervous talk, some members of Cluster aristocracy even looked physically wounded. Snatches of conversation wafted through the throne room, "Terrorism?" was the most common term bandied about, but Vega could hear other words, hateful words. Vega rose out of Vexus's thro- _Her _throne.

"Who is responsible for this outrage?" She demanded

"My queen!" herald exclaimed Cringing away "We do not know, we suspect it was a separatist movement though. They would have done something in the data blackout" Vega looked over, and even through her anger she could see the fear in the herald, and like a morning fog her anger abated, only to be replaced by a great weariness.

"Gerzon" Vega said quietly "What would you suggest?"

Gerzon looked at the young queen "My lady," He began "I can only suggest that you find the culprits immediately. Though the common robot wholeheartedly endorses you, there is unrest in this country that has festered for 2000 years under your mothers rule. You must act quickly and decisively, lest these separatists gain more supporters."

"But I cannot be too harsh, or else I'll act just like my Mother…" Vega grumbled.

"We cannot stand this outrage!" A Cluster Noble exclaimed, Vega dimly remembered him to be known as J-40 "As citizens of the Cluster we must act NOW." J-40 said, slamming an iron clad appendage on his bench.

Vega addressed him "And what would you suggest, Lord J-40?"

"Suggest? I _demand _that we strike back at these terrorists! Circuits for circuits, oil for oil!" He finished, and a grumbling agreement spread through the court.

Vega might have been young in the ways of polotics, but she knew that this was inexcusable "Lord J-40! You demand _nothing!" _She screeched back at J-40, ignoring the embarrassing crack in her voice. "I am Queen here and I will _not _stand for such insubordination. You will suggest, but you will order nothing!"

For a few palpable seconds, their wills locked in a titanic struggle. In the silence Vega could swear she could even hear subroutines completing in her head. She was studying J-40, and she could tell J-40 was studying her. J-40 had a polished blue exterior, with a centauric chassis. His torso had two powerful arms, while his abdomen was set up with four limbs. Vega noticed that on his back were two pairs of wings, similar to those her mother once had.

With her mother defeated, the supply of golden computer chips had been returned to the people, and it had sparked a new age of self discovery. _And fear _Vega thought. J-40 was definitely modeled like her mother. He wore a head piece of blue and black stripes, and sported her mothers the insectoid design. _He must be having a hard time with that _Vega considered. Not everyone on Cluster Prime was accepting as Vega had hoped they would be, and a peculiar anti-insect styled racism was becoming prevalent. The Robots built that way couldn't help it, but the abuse continued. So far it was small, and Vega hoped to keep it that way, but Vega wasn't so sure it would stay that way. J-40 was lucky to be part of the aristocracy, and somewhat immune to that racism, but every line on his body was tense. _He's just is trying to prove himself _Vega realized, and for a moment she felt sorry for him. They she Hardened her heart _Proving himself or not, I will _not _allow him to make a mockery of me._

The Stare down continued. Until finaly, J-40 lowered his eyes. "Forgive me my queen…" he mumbled dejectedly "I forget myself at times…"

Vega sat once more, gathered her synthetic breath, and spoke with her most regal voice "Lord J-40 speaks the truth though. These attacks on Cluster will not be tolerated. The culprits will be caught and they will face justice. But there will be no lynchings. This is not the Old Cluster, this is the new, the reborn. They will be captured as is the law, and they will face justice, _as is the law." _She looked around the hall, and saw the lords slowly nodding their heads. Her gaze returned to J-40. He was humbled, and his eyes looked at his feet. _Now for something risky _Vega thought "For this task, I name Lord J-40 as head of the effort" J-40 looked up at the mention of his name, and then froze, unable to process what had just happened "M-my queen?" He said "I, I am honored. I swear to bring this filth to justice" Vega smiled a private little smile and continued.

"The Confederate colonies cannot be ignored either. I have no military experience, and out Army has deserted us, but perhaps it is for the better. I do not want to reclaim the colonies in a hail of fire and oil. That is the old Cluster, this is the new. We must stand united. I will think about this matter, but for now, we will adjourn for a recess."

The Aristocracy stood and left the hall, leaving Gerzon and Vega, alone but for their guards. "On your feet lass" Gerzon said, reassuringly placing a hand on Vega's shoulder "We have to get ready for a press release"

Vega stood up and looked plaintively at Gerzon "Do I have to? I'm so tired."

Gerzon chuckled "Welcome to politics my queen. You'll get used to it. Now let's get you ready" They both began walking from the hall with slow strides.

"Things are really bad aren't they?" Vega asked quietly.

Gerzon stopped for a second and sighed. "I won't lie to you, but this is the lowest point the Cluster has had for 500 years. You're in a unique spot, and you are the only thing keeping this whole empire from coming apart at the seams." He continued walking "The tensions Vexus left are just the tip of the datastream. Cluster Law states that the queen can only be succeeded if either she is deactivated, or abdicates the throne. Though no one wants her back, there will be 'bots who will not accept you're rule, and will seek for legal avenues to increase there own gain, like the confederates." He put a heavy hand on his chrome chin "I think there may be others of this mind at court"

"J-40? Do you suspect him?" Vega inquired.

"No" Gerzon replied "He is just newly assembled and a male unit" Gerzon then broke out into a loud belly laugh "And that was a sharp piece of work back there queeny! First you beat him around the server than you give him a charge of more importance than he's ever had! He ain't going to be saying anything bad about you for a long time!"

Vega giggled "It just seemed like the thing to do. J-40 is a smart robot, with a lot of passion. This should be a good outlet"

Gerzon looked back at her "See, you're getting used to this sort of politics. Before you know it you'll have the whole court eating out of your hands"

Vega smiled "I guess so" and walked farther down the passage. They walked in silence the rest of the way, until Vega quietly spoke "I wish Jenny was here"

"So do I my queen. So do I"

* * *

Supreme Commander Tatican stood on the Bridge of his liberator Class starship, _Talon_, gazed out into the void of space. Tatican was a tall robot, and old beyond reckoning, Old enough to be of the oldest line of still active drones in the Cluster Empire. His paint color was a deep red, and he stood a full 7 feet. His body was similar to a humans, save for a distinctly beetle shaped head and design. From his forearms dangled vicious blades, forged to be merely a few molecules thick, and from his back hung a complement of wings made of polished steel. His legs were obscured by a sheaf of metal, forming a stately toga made of steel forged to act like cloth, a metallurgic feat beyond most species. He had no mouth, and had only a plate of steel to hide his voice synthesizer. His body was decorated with achievements, and medals had been burned into his cassis. Some proclaimed his rank, some proclaimed his education, and others proclaimed his victories. He was a giant among Robots, he who had crushed more armies than some robots had even computed. For now however, Tatican merely studied the void of space.

A drone scurried up to his commander. "Sir?" Tatican did not move, seemingly oblivious to the drone. The drone knew better. Tatican never gave anything away in a conversation. No matter who he talked to he always played his hand close to the vest. The only time anyone had ever seen that icy disposition crack had been on Omicron, and even then, it was merely a growl and a balling of his fists.

The Drone Straightened behind Tatican "Commander, we have received another Comm wave from Cluster Prime. Should we respond?

Tatican was Silent for a few seconds, allowing several processes to run their course in his mind. For a robot like him, it was an eternity. "No," he responded "I will not honor a usurper, keep the comm Quiet"

The Drone Saluted, "Sir" it barked, and scuttled back to its post, leaving Tatican to his silent Vigil

If one was close enough to Tatican, they might have heard him mutter, in a voice akin to a rusty knife being sharpened. "Where are you my Queen," He whispered to the empty view screen, "Where are you Vexus…" He continued to stare into the void, as if it would answer, but the placid veneer was undisturbed. Tatican hated this, he had hated every minute of his command for the Last three months. He hated those three Months ago everything fell apart.

Tatican was a general, a true general, not like that oaf Smytus, who was more brutality and cunning than finesse and intelligence. He had masterminded the downfall a dozen planets, each with their own culture and own defenders. All had burned at his feet, crushed under their own failings, without Tatican ever having to use the full might of his armies. He had fought when all the odds were against him and had succeeded, and he had never lost a battle.

And all he had done, he had done for his queen.

And now she was gone, overthrown by her treacherous daughter and some filthy Earth Robot. Tatican seethed silently. He had been away laying siege a planet during the revolt, and by the time the planet had surrendered, he had been ordered home by the wretched usurper. He had sued to keep a garrison on the conquered planet, but the usurper had forbid it. Chastised, He began the long trip home. But before he left, he made sure his conquest would never again defy the Cluster. He had shelled the planet from orbit, and turned the planet into a ball of molten glass and slag.

That action had drawn the ire of the Child queen Vega. She had stated, in no uncertain terms, that Tatican would return home _immediately _and then would surrender his command to the will of the cluster. He had acquiesced before her, but as soon as she left a new course of action blazed in his mind. This was no rightful queen, he had realized, she was weak, and would lead the Cluster back to the times before freedom of the organics. He could not allow her to continue, he could not allow the Cluster to fall. In a burning desire for knowledge, he sent out a call across his net of informers in every part of the galaxy. Slowly, the story of the New Cluster took shape.

He raged. He had left Smytus with Vexus to protect her whil she toyed with the Earth. Could that idiot not have been trusted with that task? 90 of the Cluster fleet was with Taticus, and the 10 left to Smytus must have been at least five times he amount needed to subjugate earth, and what had happened? A failure so crushing that it had sundered all that Tatican had sworn to! Regret surged through his circuits. Why could he not have been there? It was his fault Vexus was dethroned. Why did he not bring her with him? She loved to see planets fall to the Cluster, why did he not ask her to come? And why, why had he left her with that oaf Smytus?

Tatican thought of what he would do to the usurper when he got his metallic hands around her throat. He would show her that the Cluster fleet served only one queen. He would make her pay for what she had done to him. She would pay for taking meaning out of his life.

"Commander!" A drone called out along the bridge "We are receiving a distress beacon."

Tatican turned "A beacon? What is its origin solider?" Tatican was curious about this, even though something felt wrong about it. He pushed the feeling aside. As a rule, Tatican never let feelings get in the way of war.

"It is difficult to pinpoint sir, but we have a location, and an audio clip. It is distorted though sir."

"Put it on screen" Tatican ordered, his eyes full of a hungry spark

The View screen flared to life with the white snow of static. Though the crush, words could be made out "This I _–chhhhhhhh-_ s. Destroye _-shhhhhh-_ Carpon of th _-Chsssht-_ requesting immediate _–shhhhhc-_ , priority code 22843 code a _-chhhhh---"_ the rest of the transmission was static, before repeating in binary.

Tatican was unmoved except for the tiniest twitch or his right index finger "I know that voice…" Tatican growled "Smytus…" Emotion surged through Tatican in a cascade of electrical impulses. Fear, worry, hope, and joy whirled through him, but the strongest by far was anger. Tatican suddenly spun back to the bridge. "I want a full burn hyperspace jump to those coordinates now. Send comm's to the rest of the fleet telling them to set out in a Fang formation, except for the 6th and 12th fleet. I want them in flanking positions in 10 galactic standard time units after we arrive."

The Drones saluted "Sir!" they exclaimed in unison, and began their work at a furious pace. Voices droned into communications posts and digits and limbs worked in rapid succession, and slowly, the bulk of the _Talon _moved through the void of space. Warning Klaxons blared as the hyperspace jump began, beginning first in English, and then in binary. Space began to ripple as quantum laws began to distort the reality of the universe. Space began to boil infront of the talon, and in front of the numerous other warships in the Cluster fleet.

Tatican returned to looking into space. His body was tense, jittery even. His hands grasped a guardrail and squeezed. Amidst the chaos around the bridge, no one could hear the metal whine and squeal beneath Taticans Iron grip. Low in his chest, a growl began to form.

"Smytus" he said to himself "When we meet, you are going to do just a little bit of explaining on why you failed so miserably and then-" Taticus tightened his grip on a handrail, denting it severely"-I'm going to treat you to something special…" Tatican stared ahead as the whole of space ripped asunder in a warp jump, and as the world dissolved into colors and bolts of energy he headed to the only lead he had to find his lost queen.


	2. Chapter 2

Ties of Blood, Ties of Oil

A "My life as a Teenaged Robot" Fan Fiction

Chapter 2:

Whereupon Jenny meets a most Vexing Individual and Tatican has the Pleasure of Finding an Old Friend

* * *

Begging system boot: Cluster OS, model 247, designation Smytus, 0764 07.24

Opening files… Unpacking…

Error… Main power supply damaged, switching to auxiliary power.

Warning: Auxiliary power has only 2 galaxy standard time unit's worth of power

Reboot Y/N?

No has been selected

Reboot in safe mode (safe mode will only divert power to necessary systems) Y/N?

No has been selected

Engage sleep mode Y/N?

Yes has been selected

Input time variable

4000 galaxy standard time units has been selected

Preparing sleep mode…

Cluster OS is shutting down…

Begging system boot: Cluster OS, model 247, designation Smytus 1164 07.26

Opening files… Unpacking…

* * *

"Looks like we have the three hostiles in the anterior wing, room 100100101" a New Cluster police officer muttered into his microphone. "I want snipers there." He pointed to an overlying balcony "and there" he pointed to an apartment complex across the bustling airway. "LM 345 will take point with the six man entry team at the door, and LM 35 will take two men through the windows" 14 cluster police saluted in unison, and immediately began moving out to their designated positions. They were painted a midnight black, and over their optics clear glass blast shields were deployed in full face visors. 

They carried no weapons, they didn't need them. They were weapons.

Identical models, with identical weapons systems. Before the Cluster revolt they were garbage men, bus drivers, technicians. Now, with their weapons systems live, they were the Cluster Elite. Arms folded into vicious repeating plasma rifles as they ran to their positions in a lockstep marching order. On group was led by the hulking LM 345, former body shop worker who had worked his chassis to massive proportions. Even before his golden chip her could lift a fully active bot' as if it were a child unit. Another group was led by LM 35, a wiry bot' with a mind like a steel trap. His group was running to the top of an apartment complex, readying rappelling gear as they went.

LM 64, the Commissioner of the citizens' police Special Weapons and Tactics teams watched with bated breath. He monitored his men's live video feed even as he studied the floor plan for the Sky High Circuits apartment complex. He waited as his snipers lowered themselves into position, and as his soldiers began to set up for the initial breaching charge. He watched as his me set up their rappelling gear, and he waited.

A buzzing noise came from his audio receiver, a call incoming on a priority 1 line. LM 64 wasn't quite used to all these new additions to himself. He had downloaded his new schematics and the operating systems, and had even made space on his hard drive for his crash course in tactics. LM 64 was glad he was a robot. He was glad everyone he knew was a robot. As an organic, all the knowledge and skills needed to be a SWAT operative would have taken years to learn. The cluster didn't have that time. As a robot, all that information had been downloaded in just two days time, and those skills had changed ordinary nobodies into highly capable assets to the Cluster Empire, and LM 64 would rather have his hard drive melted to slag then go back to making cans. When he was a canner did anyone acknowledge his leadership skills?

LM 64 allowed the call to go through, and a blue and black robot appeared in the corner of his optics. "Lord J-40," LM 64 began "The raid is about to begin"

Lord J-40 looked eagerly back through the view screen. "Then my informants were correct? These are Ghost operatives?"

"Yes My lord. We have confirmed a cell is located in this apartment complex. So far we have, eh, evacuated the floors around them. Were preparing to assault as you speak"

"Good, good. Excellent even. You, ah, will be able to capture one?"

"That is a variable my lord. They seem willing to take their own lives rather than submit so…"

"So they might just kill themselves."

"yes , but we just need a hard drive intact. With surprise we should…"

"Should isn't enough Commissioner, the Cluster needs results" J-40 said tetchily

LM 64 bristled at that, but didn't let it show. J-40 was young, impetuous, demanding, and was far too concerned being absolutely sure of a plans effectiveness. It was one thing to get a good plan, another to have a projected success rate of 98.7

"Lord, we can only assume a 76.4 percent chance of success. There are too many variables to consider. Even with a surprise attack, which we are sure of, they could be golden chip activated, or they could activate another self destruct mechanism."

"Hmmph. Fine. I detest all this, this, messy business. I like my battles much more one sided. Continue as you would Commissioner. If this fails, I have contingency plans."

"Yes My lord" the picture in picture image vanished. _Well, _LM 64 thought _He certainly is a good strategist at least. I thought I was going to get stuck with a petulant little lordling. Praise Queen Vega for that choice. Still, he needs to be more patient._

"Sir, red team in position, placing breach charge"

"Sir, Snipers in position, do we have the green light?"

"Sir, blue team in position, readying EM grenades"

LM 64 sat in his command chair, waiting. He reviewed his men, saw through their eyes, and evaluated. His fingers drummed the metal surface of his thigh. Everything needed to be impeccable. The Cluster was relying on them. He sucked in a gasp of artificial breath.

"We have a green light people, move, move, move!" he barked, and the peace of the Cluster Prime dusk shattered.

* * *

"No Enrique! She doesn't love you!" Jenny sobbed at the pulsing glow of the TV. Oblivious, the actors didn't seem to notice, and continued to play out their lines much to Jenny's dismay. She choked back a sniffle. 

Life without Mom was awesome. It hadn't even been a day and she was having a blast. She could be as messy as she wanted, spend all the time on the phone, and even use the big TV without being shooed out. In the few hours she had been home alone, she had been living like a queen. She was halfway through _The Loveless, _her favorite movie, and she had come to realize that you couldn't appreciate it without surround sound. Her Mom had installed it to watch documentaries, a fact that Jenny had felt a certain amount of revulsion for.

_Breep_. A shill sound bounded throughout the house. Jenny looked around until she noticed her belly button screw. It was lighting up in a light neon blue color and emitting the offending shrill noises. "Oh no, not now." Jenny moaned, staring plaintively at her belly button "The movie isn't done yet!" She glanced back up at the TV, and then back at her belly button, and for a few moments she seriously considered ignoring it. The shrill noise won out in the end. Biting her lip, Jenny paused the movie.

"What is it this time" Jenny said exasperatedly to herself as she checked a nearby monitor. In a green set of letters it spelled out:

**UNIDENTIFIED BREACH IN UNITED EARTH NATIONS MAINFRAME**

"Pff" Jenny breathed with annoyance. That stupid hacker her mother was talking about was ruining her movie. Boy was she going to give him a piece of her mind. _At least I get to try out the S.E.E.R _Jenny thought, and sat down in a chair. _If it works at all._

_Concentrate _Jenny thought _Concentrate. _She focused as hard as she could, searching deep inside for the new hardware. Beads of lubricant began to She could feel the electrical impulses rush through her positronic brain, searching, looking for the S.E.E.R. She felt the click of the chip being found, she felt the rush of energy as the device activated.

And then the world fell to pieces.

* * *

VR setups are highly sought after by computer specialists for their unique ability to trivialize what could amount to hours of coding in the real world. They are so sought after in fact, a black market setup can run for as much as 3 million dollars and many people would be willing to pay even more for one. The secret behind the VR setup is its use of metaphor and subconscious manipulation to translate brain impulses into physical coding. To put it simply, the VR setup allows you to do things without actually doing them, and faster. 

A VR setup first begins its actions by being firmly placed over the head of the recipient. It then extends several electrodes which affix to the neck and key portions of the head. These electrodes paralyze the body temporarily to prevent any unfortunate seizures and twitches, and the others begin to stimulate the portions of he brain that deal with hallucinations and dreams. Then the VR setup links to a designated computer and begins to import data as the computer emits it. Then, it translates the data into images inside the recipient's brain. The images are not the same for everyone, and are interpreted differently by every mind. An example would be that a program might be viewed by one person as a painting, and be viewed by another as a door. As the user interacts with the hallucinations, the VR setup translates them into code, and transmits them to the computer. This removes all the tedious coding and replaces it with a simple gesture, allowing hours of coding to be simplified. For that very reason computer specialists find them so invaluable. Hackers however, find them indispensable.

This isn't to say there aren't any risks. Prolonged exposure has been proven to have addicting effects. If your system ever crashes the feedback might knock a user out for at least a day and though its rare, heaven forbid if the paralysis node doesn't deactivate when the session isn't over.

For these reasons VR setups haven't caught on with anyone outside the government sector. Of course, except hackers. With he extra speed and skill that a setup gives a person has become an essential part of any full time hacker. With new computer defenses and stepped up cyber crime awareness, it is impossible to get into anything when operating at meat speeds.

Jenny didn't nearly half of this. She just knew that she had been falling for what had seemed to be an hour. And now, she was in a long white hallway filled with blue doors. It was impeccably clean, almost sterile. Even Jenny's sensors couldn't detect anything unusual in the room. What was unusual was the absolute absence of any airborne particles.

She looked around the hallway, and fought down the first few pangs of panic down. "Hello?" she ventured tentatively. Her voice echoed down the hallway, and while she strained for a reply, none came. She glanced around at the doors, and noticed that they had words written on them. One she noticed was labeled _program files_. Another door a few feet away was labeled _Operating System._

"Wait a second… I'm in my own head…" She said with a little awe. This was the strangest experience ever. Questions flooded her mind What could she find out about herself? What was hidden inside her? Then, she remembered her mission. "This is cool and all, but what good is it now?" she lamented. She began to walk down the hallway. Each door had different labels, but nothing even remotely helpful. Up and down the hallway she walked, until the she was convinced it was endless. The doors stretched off into the horizon, and Jenny was loosing her patience. She sat down for a few seconds "Well isn't this just great. I'm stuck in my own head, and I can't even do what I was coming to do." She muttered. "I need to be at the UN.". Her words echoed around the hallway, like ghosts. She began to drum her fingers on her thigh. Then something changed.

The hallway began to just sort of, _shift. _In a sort of amorphous ballet, reality began to twist.Walls moved at impossible angles and the doors rearranged at completely unnatural junctions, until the door jenny had been looking at was replaced by another. It was just another blue labeled door.

She inspected its label cautiously. On faded black letters, It simply stated,_ internet_. There was a thin layer of dust on it, like it had never been opened. _That sort of makes sense _Jenny thought _I haven't gone on the internet with my brain since I was like 2._ "Well, here goes nothing" she said with a gulp and gingerly grasped the knob. She turned the knob and stepped into the internet.

The door opened into a cityscape, full of towering skyscrapers which reached so far into the sky that they were almost vanished into the clouds. Surrounding them were smaller buildings, some barely a story tall. They were all different colors, some cold and gray while others were painted painfully garish colors. Some of the buildings were clean, while others were filthy with grime and rust. Each had bright Neon signs labeled with numerous different slogans, MSN, Yahoo, and Bob's Captain Crush fan page just to name a few. At intersections along the street were website addresses on street signs. Monorails with site names emblazoned, on their sides, like Google, rushed around faster than her eyes could fully grasp. Blips of lightning sparked between the buildings, and when Jenny paid attention, she could see IP addresses in the flashes. The sight was so massive, so huge, that she felt her breath escape her chest.

Tenderly, she began to act. With exaggerated care, Jenny moved to a monorail. It was a sleek white one, and was vaguely shaped like a bullet. It had the words _Google _painted on the side. As she stepped to the side of the monorail, the doors opened and a person, no, not a person, a search engine, addressed her. It was dressed as old style train conductor in a light grey uniform. Its skin though was an uncomfortable pale white. "Search query?" it asked in an annoyingly buzzing, voice.

"Um, Hello?" Jenny ventured "My names Jenny an-"

"Search Query?"

"Right" Jenny said "Uh, I'd like to go to the UN homepage."

"www.UN.gov? Or WWW.U&N. com? or-"

"The first one"

"Destination selected" the search engine said and pulled a lever. The world blazed past in a streak of color faster than Jenny could ever imagine going at her own pace. It was like she was riding lightning. The monorail went from a breakneck speed to a dead stop in an instant, and strangely enough with no inertia. "Destination reached" the search engine intoned.

Jenny stepped of the Monorail and out onto the virtual street on the outside of the UN mainframe. In Jennies mind, it looked like an Embassy, with a perfectly manicured green lawn, and flags dangling in the virtual wind. It had an impossibly high fence that acted more like a solid wall when jenny touched it. Internal countermeasures that looked like UN soldiers were patrolling the grounds with mechanical vigilance. They patrolled in set patterns, never deviating. Evvery so often a flash of lightning would fly into and out of the website. Some were stopped by the fence, while others passed through it as if it was a veil. Jenny was amazed at the defenses the place had, it looked like there wasn't even a gate.

"All right" Jenny said too herself, rubbing her mechanical chin "Now if I was a Hacker, where would I be?" she thought for a few seconds "I should get a better view of the playing field" she mused. With a look of determination Jenny's pigtails whirred and transformed, turning into sleek and dangerous looking jets. She jumped into the air with a flex of her mechanical legs, and her jets rocketed her up into the air above the Embassy.

Hovering high above the embassy, she scanned the grounds. The action seemed fruitless at first. For twelve minutes she saw nothing. _That intruder warning_ _must have been a malfunction, _she thought. _Now how do I log out of here? _She began to concentrate on her S.E.E.R chip. Something flickered in the corner of her vision. Curious, Jenny turned to face it.

It was just the tiniest discrepancy in a fence. Near invisible cracks were spreading along its surface inexorably. Tiny bits of data began to fall off, and a hole began to widen in the center. The more she looked, the more she was certain, certain beyond a doubt, that something was there. She couldn't see it, she couldn't hear it, but she knew something was there. She was just about to move on to get a closer look when the air rippled.

It was like a blanket or air placed over a hunched form. When Jenny looked close at the disturbance, she could see the images behind it horribly distorted, like they were being seen through water. Someone was hiding in that disturbance. "Gotcha." Jenny exclaimed smugly and sped of towards the disturbance. As she flew, her hand morphed. Layers of metal replaced and reinforced her fist until it was at least ten times its natural size and studded with wicked spines. She raised her hand for a crushing punch that would crash her opponent's operating system.

As she flew in a hawks dive towards the disturbance, the air rippled again. This time it moved. In a half jump, half dive the shape dove from the wall just as Jenny landed her fist into the street with titanic force, sending chunks of virtual asphalt over the crippled fence. A piece of shrapnel struck the shape and the air rippled again. This time to reveal what appeared to be a man.

But this was no ordinary man. His hair was of fire, and it crackled in a burning halo around his face. He wore a cloak, and a tunic of black. His eyes were a deep red, and though mischief twinkled in them, they were contorted in annoyance, and when he spoke, it was a high and nasally tones. "Holy shit girl! What the hell was that about?"

"Listen here punk" Jenny said, waving her transmuted fist "keep your nose out of the UN, you hear me?"

"Woah, woah woah!" The hacker said, waving his hands "Let's just talk about this eh? Like good, fellow hackers, huh? No reason to fight, no reason at all. You want in? I'll show you the exploit I found, just cool it, OK?" He paused for a second "hey, how'd you get that avatar? I can' get anything but this Loki skin"

"I'm not a hacker; I'm here to stop you twit." Jenny growled "So what do you need to know so badly about the cluster, huh? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that won't help you in jail."

The Hacker looked surprised, then gave an annoyed sigh "Aw shit, you're a security hacker aren't you, a white hat? Andyou know I'm after the Cluster? Damn, I must be slipping. Listen, can we settle this without a fight?"

"If you turn yourself in"

"Yeah, I'm going to pass on that one. Still sure? Yes? Damn. Well-" He gave a reserved grin and cracked his knuckles as he slipped into a combat stance. With a gesture his hands engulfed in flame "–Are we going to start this Cyber-fight girl?"

"Oh yeah we are" Jenny said with a smile "Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you"

"Good, I was getting bored"

The hacker raised his hands full of fire with a yell. Though it was not real fire in the least bit, it was a metaphor for something more real. A system crash or a virus was what he really held in his flaming hands. Jenny bit her lower lip. If that even touched her body…

Jenny deployed a shield from her arm, crouched behind it, and waited for the attack. It was a strong shield that cannibalized her entire arm for parts. In reality it was a shield made of a titanium alloy proven to stand up to lasers, but in the virtual world, it was her most powerful anti-virus software. She clenched her teeth and braced herself.

The attack never came.

Jenny poked her head around her shield, to see the strategy of her foe. Instead of a powerful attack, she saw a strategy she never would have expected. Especially from someone who talked so much smack. Her mouth agape, she saw him disappearing into the distance as fast as his virtual legs could carry him. "You snooze you loose bitch!" the hacker yelled back as he ran

Jenny was furious, not even the Krust cousins said things like that to her. "Get back here you creep!" Jenny yelled in frustration. _All right, the kid gloves are off _she thought. Widening her stance wings with massive engines unfolded from ht small of her back. Adding to her pigtail jets with her new wings, Jenny screamed through the internet after the Hacker.

The Hacker giggled madly as he ran, jumping over streets and through the intersections of the internet. He threw himself through buildings, though monorails, and tried every trick in the book to escape He didn't speak as he fled, but rather would raise his middle finger periodically.

"Why you…" Jenny growled in frustration, her hands balling into fists. She followed him like a cruise missile, but she couldn't catch him in the internet. In this world her physical abilities were nowhere near what she was used to, and he was a crafty bastard. He ducked into alleys and down forgotten streets and Jenny was forced to dodge, evade, and circumvent more obstacles than she would have ever guessed she would have to. The Hacker seemed to these places like they were the back of his hand, and Jenny felt a pang of doubt as to whether or not she can even catch him.

And then, he came to a dead end. Sighing inwardly with relief, Jenny smiled and with exaggerated grace landed but ten feet away from her quarry. He acted like a cornered animal, and looked from side to side for an opportunity to escape. He spun around to face Jenny, his back against the alley wall.

The Hacker raised his eyebrow, panting "Jesus girl, do you even know what a boundary is? I'm out of your site, you can't touch me here. That's the law. I thought you'd know with being a white hat and all"

"That," Jenny smirked, her arm folding into cannon as she talked "Would be only if I was a security hacker"

"What? You're some sort of vigilante? Well shit." He scowled "I thought I wouldn't have to log out for a while"

"Oh no, you aren't logging out 'till I find out where you are broadcasting from"

"Nah, I don't think so"

Suddenly the hacker dropped to the floor, his hand outstretched. Before Jenny could act, even with her enhanced reflexes, a bolt of flame flickered out of the hackers hand like a lance and struck Jenny on the stomach. It wasn't painful, but it knocked her to her knees in shock. She landed heavily on her butt. In her surprise, she could hear the Hacker snort out a laugh. Her face turned into a mask of rage, and anger fueling her more potently than any battery, Jenny was instantly back on her feet. In a salvo of plasma she aimed her cannon and began to fire.

The Hacker rolled nimbly to the side as bolts of energy scored the ground next to him, kicking up hot bursts of vaporized asphalt as they did. With a roll backwards, he propelled himself onto his feet. He lowered himself into a runners crouch and in one smooth motion he and began to run past Jenny. Jenny swung an armored arm at him, but he nimbly dodged under it by only a hairs margin. As he passed by her, he spared a look up for a few seconds "See ya' around doll, good luck fixn' your computer." he said, and in a gout of flame he was gone. He had logged out.

Alone in some back alley, Jenny let herself go. "Damnit!" Jenny yelled and stomped her feet. She was furious with herself and raised her firsts at the virtual heavens. Not only did the bad guy get away, but shot her! Now she was missing her movie for nothing! She was just so angry! She imagined her hands around that smug little freaks neck and hauling him back to jail or wherever he came from. She sneezed.

Jenny wiped her nose "Wha.." she began before erupting into another fit of sneezing. She looked at the glob of lubricant on her hand that had escaped from her mouth "Oh no. Oh no he didn't" Jenny began, quickly running systems diagnostic as she devolved into another sneezing fit. It finished, and a moniter folded out from her chest. Staring at her, in big red letters was the one thing every robot needs to fear. "Oh damn…" Jenny moaned as she read the words: VIRUS DETECTED.

_This was going to be a long four days_, Jenny thought, and dejectedly logged out of the internet in a pillar of blue light. The rest of the internet went about its business, oblivious to the exchange except for bit of corrupted coding.

* * *

Smytus woke from his deep sleep slowly and groggily. His optics sputtered to life as he crawled his was back to the world of the living. It was agonizingly slow, but as he fought for it, consciousness came back bit by bit. 

At first he could only tell he was in a bright room. As his awareness returned, he was able to tell the room was a sterile white, with an overly large light hanging like a ghost at the center of the room. He vaguely could tell he was restrained. His wrists and legs were bound to what seemed to be a table tilted 45 degrees. He couldn't help but think that this looked so very much like and operating room.

Dimly he could hear voices. Nice, robotic voices, Smytus realized. _Thank the Trinary_, Smytus thought _for a while I thought I was found by organics. _He strained his auditory receptors, hoping to catch a glimpse of conversation. But try as he might the words were too garbled.

Smytus let his head rest back on the table. He knew he was in good hands, he just knew it. What other robots besides the Cluster would pick him out of space? He had no reason to worry.

Smytus turned his head at the sound of a door sliding open. He couldn't turn his head to face the door, so he listened. He listened to the sound of heavy boots treading on the white tile floor. They made heavy clacking noises with a rhythm, like a sentient metronome. At precisely two feet away they stopped, and the sound of boots was replaced by the drumming of steel fingers on his table.

"Smytus…" A cool voice said.

Smytus couldn't place the voice. It was so familiar though. Like an old schoolmate, or a famous person. Tentatively, he ventured to answer "Yes?"

"Tell me." The voice continued "How does a competent commander manage to loose half of his fleet to an inferior species?" The fingers drummed at a steady pace, a gentle staccato on the back of Smytus' table.

Smytus did not like where was is going "Uh, I-"

"And how does a Competent Commander manage to loose repeatedly to a single foe?" The Fingers continued uninterrupted.

"Listen here you fool! I am Smytus, destroyer of worlds! I will not be addressed by _anyone_ in this manner, let alone a coward who does not show his face. You will release me or I will personally rip your synthesizer from your throat" Smytus growled back. He was loosing his patience with this game of twenty questions. He was Smytus! Favorite of queen Vexus, and no robot would speak to him in this way.

The Voice continued "And how does a Competent commander send his country into civil war" The staccato drone of the fingers increased its tempo.

"Release me! I am Smytus'! Favored of the Queen!" Smytus' began to struggle against his bonds and was rewarded by a sharp electric jolt.

The Staccato of the fingers stopped, replaced by the sound of rending steel. "Favorite?" the voice asked in a low and threatening tone. "I don't think you know who you're talking to…"

His tormentors face leaned over the side of the table. Smytus' oil froze solid. Not him, anyone but him. "No, you, you were on the other- you can't be, they said-. You can't be here!"

"Oh I can Smytus, Oh yes I can." Tatican said as he looked into Symtus' eyes, so full of fear "I just want to have a talk, commander to commander-" he said disinterestedly as he reached into a drawer out of Smytus' sight "-About how someone who I trusted to guard the queen could fail so badly, and for every answer I don't like" Tatican pulled back, revealing a wickedly curved knife "I'm going to take a pound of gears"

Smytus' eyes widened "Wha? This is madness? You can't do this to me, the queen…"

"Is missing" Tatican said icily "And I'm just I'm just dieing to find out where she is" He took the knife and began lightly drawing it around Smytus' body, doing no damage, but dangerously skirting crucial parts. "And after I'm done talking, you'll be dieing to tell me too…"

"She, ah? She is-"

"No no Smytus." Tatican admonished "I haven't asked you where she is yet. You can't speak out of turn can you? Just isn't proper when addressing a superior officer. Even if-" Taticans voice changed to a patronizing pitch "You _are _the queen's favorite." A deep chuckle began in his throat.

Suddenly, the angle of Taticans arm increased and servos fired, driving the knife deep into Smytus' midsection. Armor parted like wet wood, accompanied by the screech of gears and tearing metal. Smytus gasped in pain as oil welled out of the wound and small systems shut down. The knife twisted, tearing tubes and gears as it traveled through Smytus' bowels with exaggerated precision. It wasn't that it hurt like a human registered pain, but it was the acute realization that he was dieing. Smytus opened his mouth to scream, but all that came out was a garbled chocke as oil and lubricant welled up in his mouth. Through a haze of pain, he glimpsed Taticans expressionless face, and he swore he could see a glint of joy in his eye. Tatican leaned in close to Smytus' face.

"Now" Tatican said in a conversational voice "Where is Vexus?

* * *

Well that certainly was interesting, wasn't it? I think another title for this chapter could be titled "Whereupon we realize why this Fanfic is rated T". Sorry for the language if anyone is offended by that (Actually, I am not really that sorry. I'm a filthy liar in that respect). I promise that some of these things I keep on referencing will have explanations and resolutions in later chapters, I swear to god. 

This chapter seems a bit disjointed to me, but I can't really judge my own work. That's where you come in loyal audience. Review me! Gather like Jackals alongside the steaming corpse of English that is this prose and review. The only way I can get better is if you tell me what I'm doing wrong, or if I inject a writing plasmid into my body, but that isn't likely. In any case, I'll probably update on Saturday (Probably, whimsy might get in the way of that deadline for better or worse.)

Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Bubbles and I have to go look for some Adam.


	3. Chapter 3

Ties of Blood, Ties of Oil

A "My life as a teenage robot" Fanfic

Chapter 3:

Whereupon Jenny meets a new acquaintance and

J-40 begins to construct his snare.

Two cluster soldiers stood guard over the sterile white door that led to Supreme Commander Taticans' interrogation room. They stood rigid. Backs straight and rifles at ready, they waited. With mechanical patience they endeavored to move not a single robotic muscle. Their eyes were shifting warily about the hallway that led to their charge in a predictable routine. Upper right corner, diagonal shift to bottom left corner, horizontal sweep, diagonal to upper left corner, horizontal back to the upper right corner. It was monotonous. The repetitive actions over such a long period of time became mind numbing. So they began to talk on a shortwave frequency.

"So what do you thinks going on in there?"

"Feh, search me. It can't be too bad. I mean really, the Supreme Commander traveled over half the galaxy to get to Commander Smytus. That sort of effort takes some dedication, and why would he waste time for someone he was going to off anyway"

"Well, you ain't heard it from me, but I heard that Smytus was the one to blame for the loss of earth"

"Eh? Now how could he do that? I mean it's the _Earth._ There really isn't much too it past the XJ 9. I heard it the XJ 9 was gone too. Really though, he lost the battle?

"That's what command has been saying, something about 'is occupation tactics."

"Ha! He can occupy a planet? I always heard he was the 'destroyer of worlds'"

"Yeah well, they say the Monkeys ousted him, he even had to destroy his command ship."

"No shit?"

"Yeah, but I think that something else might be going on. Like you said, Tatican hauled us all the way out here, and he came hisself."

"That is weird now that you mention it…"

"Yeah, and guess what LG2 in engineering told me he found."

"What, a note?"

"No, nothing like that. See, in Taticans command chair they found some claw marks, and some of the handrails were bent out of shape"

"Like from Tatican?"

"Yeah, and the claw marks were deep too. Right into the bulkhead"

"But that thing is made of steel"

"I know, he must have been grinding on it for a while"

"He's gotta be pissed at something"

"I know, which makes me begin to wonder though, what's going on behind that door?"

"I-"

The sterile doors whirred open, cutting the drone off mid sentence. Both drones snapped back to full attention as with a heavy clunking noise the door locked into an open position. As the guards stared straight forward, they could hear heavy strides begin toward them as steel feet hit the delicate tile. There was a sort of jaunty pace to the steps as they moved toward the door. Faintly, a dripping sound could be heard, along with the smell of ozone.

Supreme Commander Tatican exited the Interrogation room with his head held high. The two drones saluted formally, and Tatican returned the salute distractedly, careful not to touch his face. The drones did not move as they saw his hands rise for the salute; they just watched the oil covering all of Taticans forearms slowly ooze down the side of the supreme commanders arm.

Robot gore covered his arms and legs. Oil was matted in his joints and tiny bits of wire clung to him like grisly Velcro. A pool of coolants was forming at his feet as he stood with his steel cloth splattered in oil, and a gruesome trail could be seen following his footsteps. The hallway seemed deathly quiet, save for the sound of dripping oil.

Tatican lowered his arm, and continued on his way, leaving the two soldiers on guard. Slowly their eyes traveled along the spreading trail of coolant following its tributaries and its deltas. The gory trail flowed through the tile like a mighty river, until it reached an operating table where a waterfall of oil welled in a viscous stream. And from where the river had sprung was a mass of metal, twisted and scarred. Broken circuits fired in dying bursts with faint pops of light and heat and gears feebly tried to turn their maimed companions. It was nothing, except for a face frozen in agony.

Smytus, Commander of the 201st fleet, Carpon of the Crab Nebula, Destroyer of worlds, was dead.

* * *

J-40 stirred in his chair as he stared into the pulsing glow of a computer terminal. He scrolled though fields of police and news reports, reading. The light of the consol flickered gently throughout the room as the only source of light. Its gentle white glow played off of J-40's face like water, and ebbed and flowed with his search. In the darkness he waited.

The chair he sat on was rather strange, taking into account his centauric construction. Throughout the cluster empire, specialize furniture was always available to the infinite amount of shapes robots inhabited. It was a flat surface with a board to lean against in the front, and another in the back. J-40 had owned it since he first had his office five years ago. Time was taking it's toll on the chair, and it was visibly scuffed and torn. J-40 shifted his weight and stared deeper into the computer terminal.

The attack on the terrorists yesterday had yielded no results, and neither had the other nine sting operations. The Terrorists had done something to themselves that would fry their hard drive on a system termination, and they never were taken alive. With their hard drives fried nearly nothing could be recouped from their charred corpses, and it was beginning to drive the police force to distraction. J-40 hated to admit it, but he was beginning to feel that he had been outmaneuvered.

J-40 was not thought by many as smart, except for the thought that he could be smart if he applied himself. He did not do well in school when he did attend; he was impatient with mathematics and was decidedly devoid of artistic talent. He was a polite but uninspired speaker, and for the most part had only an average grasp of politics. It was thought that in nearly all respects that J-40 was average. But in games, he was a genius.

He had spent his young life playing. Any game he was given he would devour. Studying it and mastering it in only a matter of weeks. He went from day to day, waiting to pit himself against other robots in every game he could touch. He lost often, but he won more. By the time he had left collage, he was a world class player of Tri-light, a fast paced strategy game akin to earth chess. Albeit played on three boards and with incandescent balls of light. Everything he had done revolved around being the best at his games. Some had called it childish, but J-40 had never listened to them and would always withdraw back into his little shell. He didn't care what they thought; just that he could be the best at something.

And now he was doing the most important thing of his young life. For once he was being relied on for something. Before this he was always being watched over by his parents, by the court, by his friends, but not now. His childish outburst at court had netted him the freedom he had desired most, and the ironic thing was that it was never even his idea to speak. His family had chafed against the queen, and had ordered him to say that pithy speech. He was a minor noble they said, and no one would pay much attention if he failed, and besides, he was expendable. If he was imprisoned or chastised it would only affect the family in a minor way.

He had been their servant, but now he was his own man. It was like a breath of fresh air through his relays. It was exiting and terrifying all at once, and it had made J-40 feel alive. Some where inside him, he knew he needed to still heed his families wishes, but it was becoming hard to pay attention to that voice. He was actually someone of importance now, not just a pawn to be discarded as needed. He was torn between loyalty to his family and loyalty to his queen.

To distract himself from his inner doubt, he had devoted himself wholly to the task, excluding even some basic needs like sleep. At first he had looked down on the child queen Vega. She was a total of 4 years younger than him and he had thought her a child in all respects. But when their wills locked back in that court, J-40 had seen something. Her face had still been the face of a teenager, but there was something else it masked. Behind the face of a teenager was a true queen, one who demanded respect. She was a scared young girl, but underneath was Iron. He remembered her luminescent eyes, and he remembered the strength they held.

So he had sat in his office for days on end, searching for a clue. But what was he looking for? Nothing he had tried earlier had unearthed anything useful. J-40 loaded the newest data from his computer with a few irritated taps on the terminal's touch screen. A cell had been located, and assaulted, in a garage downtown. Once again there had been no prisoners. J-40 loaded the location onto a map of the city along with the rest of the data. The map looked like a web of tiny red dots which all seemed to be placed haphazardly. Looking at the locations his brow furrowed._ Another_ _completely random cell location, _He thought _nothing is linking them to one another._

These foes of the Cluster were clever and secretive. After all the efforts of the Cluster to extract knowledge about them, precious little information had been gathered. What they had found out was mostly conjecture, much to J-40's frustration. They called themselves the Ghost in the Machine, and they were some sort of Quasi-religious order. J-40 believed that they were some sort of ancient secret society. The individuals he had had described to him seemed to have a feeling of age to them, as if they belonged to something bigger. He hadn't any proof, but J-40 suspected that the aims of these ghost to be specific. They were aiming for something particular, rather than just wonton chaos and J-40 wanted to know what. He couldn't understand what it could be though. _What could they be looking for? What do they want? Power? Wealth? Independence? What? _He sat and pondered _What are you willing to give your lives for?_

J-40 absent mindedly cracked his knuckles. _It sort of is funny. I think I remember when I would play connect the dots with things like this. _He took a long index finger and traced the dots together. _Heh, that was easy, case closed. _He sighed _If only this was like Nol-raat. I could just find the master spot and it would all tumble down. Then who'd be laughing? Instead I'm stuck in this office and failing at my job… _His eyes shifted around the room, _…failing my queen… _His head sunk into his hands. _Ugg… And if I just had kept my fat mouth shut I could be playing Tri-light right now. Maybe someone qualified could figure it out. _He spared a glance at the screen with a single eye. An electrical impulse initiated and a circuit relay fired in his brain.

He sat bolt upright. _This pattern… _He thought excitedly _I've seen this before! It's the 5TD gambit! From Tri-light! I can't believe I didn't see it before, I've used that like a hundred times! That screen of locations, each drawing attention away from a singularly important point. Each is going to be equidistant from that point, so they can all respond in one turn, I mean, respond quickly. _J-40 began to run some calculations through his computer. _They're just trying to distract me with all these cells. But if my math is right they should be protecting something right, here. _He tapped the screen just as a new blip appeared on the glowing surface. He excitedly looked for where the dot indicated.

Nothing was there, just an empty plot of land. It was scheduled for construction in one month. Other than that, I was a particularly barren spot. He shook his head in surprise. The empty space stared back at him, unblinking, mocking.

_No, no that can't be it._ _That's just too weird… _J-40 thought. This can't have just been a happenstance. _There is no such thing as coincidence _J-40 thought angrily. With a few angry taps on his screen, he pulled up every map for the last month and began to search through them. He opened each and painstakingly combed their surfaces for any sort of clue. After a few seconds of hunting he let out a relived sigh and relaxed several degrees, slumping back into his chair as his limbs gave out with relief.

Where that empty plot of land had stood was now a low income, run down apartment building. He called up a sidebar on the building and checked further information. With great interest he noticed that this building was not scheduled to be raised anytime this year. _This map is from before the first terrorist attack, so that must mean…_ Skipping ahead, he opened a map of the day after the attack. The apartment was gone. J-40 began to chuckle _Trying to hide this building in the data blackout _he thought, _Clever, and here I was so focused on trying to lure you out into the open, I forgot to go hunting for you. _J-40 leaned back in his chair, with a smug expression on his face. It was just like a game of Tri-light, he mused, just with a bit more rules flexibility. J-40 moved to turn off the terminal.

"Check" he said with a wide smile.

* * *

Brad sat in his desk at school for chemistry. He lazily slouched in his chair as he waited for the Mr. Pigart to arrive. It wasn't normal for the teacher to be late, but it had happened before. He glanced around the room at the other students, who were also just milling around and talking. Brad even thought he saw a paper airplane. Every one was just having a good time, except for Jenny, who sat across from Brad with her head on her desk. A damp pool was issuing from it.

"Hey Jen" Brad asked cautiously "What's with the head… and the puddle"

"Wha...? Oh Brad." Jenny said with a tired voice. She looked terrible. Coolant was running freely from her nose and her eyes were watering and squinty. Her entire face had that faint blue flush of hers. "I'm sorry, sorry. I just caught a virus"

"A virus? You're a Robot Jen"

"No you doofus, a computer Virus… S'just got me a little sleepy"

"You're more than that, you're a wreck. Why don't you call Wakeman and have her fix you up?"

"Mom can't know about this! If she knows I got a virus again she'll deactivate me for sure. Besides, I'll get over it"

"Uh, Jen? I think you're overreacting."

"Don't you try that on me mister. I am reacting perfectly fine"

"I was just saying if you caught a virus in the line of duty she'll understand." His eyebrow rose. "It _was _in the line of duty right?"

"Of course it was. Where else would I get it?"

"Oh you know. Places."

"What?"

"Like where my computer got a virus. You know, those places"

"I really don't follow you"

"Well I… It's very simple… Now when a- oh hey! I think I hear Mr. Pigart!"

"Emmph, whatever… I'm going back to sleep" Jenny let her head fall on the desk with a thump.

Brad gave a relived sigh as he extricated himself from the conversation and waited for my Pigart to enter the classroom. School was going to be over in three weeks, so there wasn't really anything important to do in class. Sure he could try and catch up on some homework, but he was doing just fine with his C+. Anyway, Mr. Piginart wasn't even that hard of a teacher. The doorknob began to rattle and the teacher stepped in.

"Right, settle down you psychotic little apes. I swear to god, you don't have a teacher in the room for five minutes and it all goes to hell." An annoyed voice snapped. It had just the hint of and accent.

Brad did a double take. This wasn't Mr. Piginart at all. There were a few key differences Brad could see. First of all, Mr. Piginart was much more sarcastic, not just angry. Second, this person didn't have Mr. Pigarts lab coat. Thirdly, Mr. Pigart looked completely different than this guy.

This stranger was a new face to Brad, but he was strangely familiar. It was hard to place it, what with his beard and graying hair, his thin little spectacles pushed up on his wrinkling face, and his unseasonably warm clothing. He had a scarf wrapped around his neck with a black turtle neck and a heavy trench coat. He plopped a sheaf of papers on Mr. Pigarts desk, and gave a strange little half smile. Brads face screwed up in surprise _Hey, that's the guy I saw outside Jenny's. He must be some sort of substitute _Brad thought.

The Stranger stood up straight and continued talking. "So as the sharper of you have noticed, Mr. Pigart isn't here. No, no he isn't. Turns out he forgot that his salad shooter had a slice and dice function and now the genius is going to be in intensive care for a few weeks, which brings me to the point of explaining to all of you why I'm teaching this freshman class. Now I realize that some of you think maybe because you are, quote "So gosh darn cool" unquote, but the truth is I am not being paid enough to teach a bunch of uninterested children a few facts that will never serve them any, and I mean _any_, real use in their life save becoming, and this is recursing a bit, a High school chemistry teacher.

"I was going to be here early, but your boulder of Vice Principle kept me back for a lecture about one of my more 'dangerous' new students. I didn't actually listen though since he thought his little speech was just _so _much more important than my time and yours so I just tuned him out. I liked to imagine that I was in my classroom teaching, but hey, what do you know. Now I want whoever he _was_ talking about to really just not try anything to crazy today OK, cause I'm already angry at the lecture, which I might add you are indirectly responsible for."

Brad looked over at jenny's comatose form _This guys going to be in for a surprise _He smiled mischievously _I bet he thinks he has to deal with a rowdy prankster, not a super hero robot._

The Substitute continued "So if we are going to get along we need to get a few things straight, number one, you will keep your noise holes shut when I am talking. And I don't mean it like other teachers, oh no, I will be on your ass if you even send the nerve impulse to your vocal chords. Two, You are either going to be doing real science with me or you will be quiet in your seat. I don't care what you do, just as long as you don't get in the way. And three, if you're going to be try and be funny at least make me laugh would you?

"Now my name is James McKinley. You can refer to me as James, Mckinley, Mr. McKinley, Dr. McKinley, Mr. K, Jackass, or any other term that you see fit just as long as you look me in the eyes as you say it. Now today you were scheduled to watch a documentary about paramecium, but seeing as it isn't required and it's about as exiting as curling in Jamaica, I thought we might as well blow something up."

Brad s face was frozen in the surprise position. _Wow,_ _McKinley's a bit of a jerk, _and _a pyro? What have we gotten ourselves into? He can't be serious _Brad thought "Uhhh… Sir?" he said raising his hand.

"Yes. You in the sweater vest. Question?" McKinley said with a smile

"Yeah, you said something about blowing something up?"

"Yes!" Mckinley exclaimed "Glad you asked sweater-vest. Yes we are going to be blowing something up, as I thought that with so little time left in the school year I might as well treat everyone to a lightshow hmm? It's not something you see everyday you know" Brad glanced over uneasily. Ever since he had met Jenny he _did _see an explosion every day. "But right now I need to take attendance. All right, now which one of you is Anderson?"

"Right here" A kid in front of the class raised his hand, and Mckinley continued calling role.

Brad gave a bit o a nervous grimace. _This guys a little crazy… Why didn't I give him the wrong directions? _He sighed a bit. _Ah well, at least its something new._

"Carbunkle? Brad Carbunkle? Which one of you is Carbunkle" Mckinley called

"Uh, here!"

"Oh hey, it's Sweater-Vest, right, Josephine Dumas? Is Josephine here?"

Snickers flitted through the room. _Aw damnit, _Brad thought _He's not going to call me sweater-vest for the rest of the day is he? _Brad studied McKinleys face, which was contorted in a strange expression as he called on Brit Krust, trying hard not to laugh at her teeth. _Yeah, I think he is._

The next name had McKinley looking a little confused. "XJ- wha? No that can't be right. Oh never mind, here it is. Jenny Wakeman? Do we have a Wakeman in here? Now that's an interesting last name. Anybody?"

Brad nudged Jenny as she slept, and she bolted upright "I'm up! I'm up!" She said in a shocked tone, blinking furiously.

His eyes fixed on the attendance sheet, McKinsey continued talking "Oh, sleeping in class I see. Now I can attest to the supportive qualities of a textbook, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that sleeping in my class might not be the best move for you Miss…" He lifted his eyes to glare at Jenny.

His eyes widened in shock and he began to mouth surprised words. He blinked a few times, took off his glasses, and put them back on again, staring at Jenny all the while.

After a few more surprised blinks, he gathered his voice with a cough. Apparently he had not seen a robot attending class before.

"Ahhh. Ummm. Errr. You- You are Jenny Wakeman correct?"

"Yes sir." Jenny said with a tired voice

"And you're enrolled in this class?"

"Yes"

"But you're made of metal…" Brad silently made a gesture of victory at his desk.

Jenny's flush grew deeper as she blushed with embarrassment. The class began to giggle. "Yes…" she said weakly.

"Hmmmm… Interesting. Maybe I should have paid attention to the Vice Principle." He leaned down to look at Jenny "You don't look all that dangerous. Well I would appreciate it if you didn't sleep, um… _recharge_ during my class." He looked down of the puddle of fluid on her desk "Uh. Do you need a tissue miss?"

Jenny's pigtails gave a slight mechanical whir as they lowered dejectedly "No thanks"

"Right… Anyway that should be it for role, so we can actually get to something interesting." McKinley walked back to his desk "Now we are going to be doing a simple little chemical reaction today, using just a little Iron Oxide, Aluminum powder and magnesium. Now this is going to release a tremendous amount of energy so we'll have to do this out side. So, as we get ready, can anyone tell me what an exothermic reaction is? Anyone? Come on, one of you monkeys has to know this, its basic chemistry…"

* * *

The end of class bell sounded with a brass ring, waking Jenny with its hellish clanging. Groggily she raised her head. Brad got out of his chair and turned to face her "She you around Jenny." He said. Jenny grunted in acknowledgement as Brad began to walk away

Jenny had slept through most of the experiment; though Brad had assured her after the fact that it had been particularly awesome and had burned though a car engine block. He had tried to wake her for it, but she had brushed him off. It was particularly difficult to try and wake up a hunk of titanium and wires when it didn't want to. Jenny had wanted to stay awake and make a good impression with the new teacher, but she was just tired. Internal warnings had been going off all this morning, and she was having malfunctions in her tear reservoirs and nasal lubricant canals. She was trying to conserve power for her anti-virus system, but it had just sort of given up a while back it seemed. Now that it was time to go home, she slowly rose from her chair and began to trudge toward the exit with all of the other teens. She sniffed as she reached the door out of the classroom.

" Ms. Wakeman, I need you to see me after class." McKinley said from behind her as he examined a few sheets of paper at his desk.

Jenny turned lethargically "Oh, uh, I was really hoping to get home and go to sleep Mr. McKinley, so I was going-"

McKinley raised a doubtful eyebrow 'You seem to think I was asking a question Wakeman. Now take a seat, this shouldn't take too much time out of your busy schedule of sleeping."

Jenny sighed. _Great, a lecture about staying awake in class. _She took a seat with minimal effort and leaned back. _I_ _think this has happened once before. _She mused as she sat.

McKinley put his papers down, and scrutinized Jenny "Now… I seemed to have noticed that you weren't really paying attention in class, and that isn't acceptable..." He began. Jenny braced herself for the coming detention. "… So why the hell were you at school in the first place? You're obviously sick. Oh wait; this is how you were designed isn't it? It's all part of your master plan. The amazing sleeping and leaking robot right" McKinley said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Jenny looked up with a little surprise. _He's giving me a hard time for coming to school? _McKinley continued unabated "I mean come on chrome dome, if you're going to come to class at least be healthy. Do you know how hard it is to study when the person next to you is _leaking? _Andnow the janitors going to have a conniption when he sees your nose drippings." He said rolling his eyes. "So tell me, where'd you get it?"

"What?"

"Christ girl, pay attention will. I know you're sick but at least try to listen will you? Who gave you the virus?"

Jenny was beginning to get angry though her fogged head "Oh… Just some guy on the web." She said with a little growl in her throat

"Right, descriptive." McKinley began rummaging in a bag by his chair 'Well, I can't have you coming into class tomorrow like that. So I want you to have this." He produced a shiny blank disc "This is the best anti-Virus software on the market. I was going to upgrade my laptop, but I think you need it more."

Jenny looked cautiously at the disk "Uh… I'm not entirely comfortable with this…"

McKinley looked confused, and then looked down at the disk, then back at Jenny. He began to chuckle "Oh damn, I just realized how weird this looks. Listen, I swear there's nothing inappropriate on that disk by my honor as an underpaid substitute."

Jenny reached out and took the disk in her hand. McKinley smiled a warm smile.

"There we go, that should purge whatever's in your system. Now get out of here." He said jerking his thumb "I have paperwork to get done" Jenny rose and trudged out of the room, looking at the disk. She wasn't sure if she was going to take it, her Mom had always told her never to accept software from strangers, but she was just so miserable. Jenny began the long walk back to her house. She was too tired to fly.

McKinley sat in the empty classroom as she left. When she was finally gone he let out a pent up stream of air from his lungs and slouched forward. He put his head in his hands and ran them down to his cheeks. He sat there for a few seconds thinking. "This" he said in a whisper "this changes things…" and let his head rest on his desk, paperwork forgotten.

* * *

Aaaand there we have it, chapter three is up. Whimsy seems to have got the better of me and made me update a day early. That should be the last original character up my sleeve, save one shot villains an people of course. I think this chapter came out a little dialogue heavy, but I like some of the exchanges myself. It is an Ok chapter I think, but not as good as some of the others (I think) However, I am becoming a little upset about the shrinking chapter size. As time progresses, the chapters are getting shorter, Oh Noes!

In Any case, Comments? Critique? How are all these new characters sitting with you? Do any provoke particularly violent responses? Benevolent ones? Indifferent ones? I need the feedback people. And thanks to everyone actually reading this, I really appreciate it.

Also, can anyone tell that compound McKinley was talking about? It's a doozy I'll tell you. As a hint, I can tell you it reaches temperatures of around 1000 degrees Celsius in its purer forms.

But now it is time to prepare to defend Ord from Brutal Khadoran hordes. Arm the Warjacks lads!


	4. Chapter 4

Ties of Blood, Ties of Oil

A "My life as a teenage robot" Fanfic

Chapter 4:

In which Tatican plots a course for the lonely planet earth and

Vega has a edifying, yet disturbing, conversation

"All right, who's ready for some science?" McKinley stood in front of a series of tubes and jars with a sardonic grin. Electric light danced along open wires and the faint smell of ozone could be detected. "Just going on a lark, could anyone tell me what this is? What do all of these tubes and wires signify?" He glanced around the class with a critical eye. His gaze settled on Jenny. "Perhaps you know Ms. Wakeman?"

Jenny shrunk back into her seat. She knew the answer of course, but she never liked to let on that she knew. Technically, she knew everything about this class, this subject, and perhaps all of freshman schooling. She never actually needed to study. She could just download the lesson straight into her memory banks, and from there she would just absorb it like she had actually learnt it. She just never liked to give it away that she knew it all though. It was just another thing that set her apart from everyone else. She absent-mindedly rubbed her metallic arm. It was just another reminder that she was so different from everybody.

"Uhmmmm…. Is it a power generator?" Jenny said feigning ignorance.

Mckinley sniffed "Hmmm… No. No it is not a power generator. I suggest you pay attention to this lesson now that you're healthy Ms. Wakeman, heaven forbid you learn something." McKinley gave her a long, doubting, look before he turned away.

Jenny had given into temptation last night at home and had tried the Anti-virus software McKinley had given her. It had felt a little weird at first, and for a few terrifying moments she had thought that something was wrong. Fortunately, the software was able to purge her system of any lingering malicious code. She had tried to thank McKinley today before class, but he had just grunted and motioned her to her seat.

"Well, I suppose we should at least start the experiment. All right kids, today we're going to be trespassing in the realm of god and man. Well not exactly trespassing per-say but we are going to be standing on the edge of his property shouting rude remarks. I assume no one has a problem with that, do they? No? Yes? Good. Does anyone know what an amino acid is?"

Jenny looked around the class. Reaction to McKinley was mixed she had noticed. His strange blend of insults, allegory, hyperbole and sarcasm was accepted differently by everyone. Some of the regularly smart kids listened intently and were particularly interested in McKinley's experiments, which were shaping up to be dangerous and information heavy. The Slackers in the class for the most part enjoyed his lax approach to participation, but the venomous barbs of words he flung at them periodically were not an easy price to pay. The Popular kids loathed him, not only did he force them to work; he watched them like a hawk waiting to pounce. Most of the privileges they had enjoyed with other teachers weren't there anymore, and McKinley was a stern task master. Worse, he was an inspired insulter, turning into its own art form in a way and would often poke fun at the popular kids when they acted out. The delinquents and punk kids also shared enmity with him. They hadn't pulled anything yet, but from the looks of him, McKinley wasn't going to be an easy mark.

Jenny found it strange that Brad paid so much attention to him. For once in his life, or so Jenny thought, Brad was taking dedicated notes. She had asked him about it earlier and Brad had said that at first he didn't like him that much, but as he began to speak, he began like how McKinley talked. He was an interesting speaker, and funny Brad had said. Of course, it did hurt that McKinley's first experiment had been particularly exiting. Jenny didn't really understand that thinking.

To her, McKinley was just confusing. She didn't understand why, but he seemed to focus on her. He would ask her questions, and when she would answer it looked like he was judging her. _At least he adapted to the robot thing quicker than my other teachers,_ she though. She could vaguely remember her fist day at school. _That was a mess _she thought to herself. In the background, McKinley continued talking.

"Well anyway, were going to be replicating the classic experiments of Miller and Urey. I don't expect anyone to know who they are because that would require, and this is a fools hope I know, that you would read ahead in your textbook. It's crazy I know, so I'm not going to explain it to you. Now does anyone happen to know the conditions of pre-biotic earth? Remember children, biotic means "life" so pre-biotic would be: before life. Now I know that Latin prefixes can be a tad confusing to idiots, but you're all a quick bunch I hope. So, any answers?"

"Uh, it was a rock?" someone ventured

"Yes, it was a rock, but that's pretty much _every _solid planet. Let's be a bit more specific. What type of rock, what form was it in, what was around the rock? Come on people lets get some guesses,"

"Was it, um… Volcanic, right. And like, there was lightning? I think." another person ventured

McKinley pointed at the person "Ding! We have a winner! Yes the earth was particularly volatile and hot back then, very good Curls, very good." Jessica "Curls" smiled slightly. "But there were a few more things we need to go over before we start this. We need to know exactly what was on this ball of rock and put it into the apparatus. First you need some methane, some water, some ammonia, and some hydrogen." He grabbed several bottles and began emptying their contents into specific parts of the machine. He looked back at the class. "Oh, and because I know one of you is thinking it, do NOT try and get your hands on this stuff, one of these will kill you, and I don't label the bottles."

He stepped in front of the apparatus. "Now this entire process is going to duplicate the conditions of pre-biotic earth. See were going to put these compounds into this chamber like I just did. Then I'm going to flip this switch" He gestured to an ominous looking lever "And it's going to begin heating. As everything begins to evaporate, it's going to follow up this tube into this chamber here" His eye caught a student with his head on his desk. Faint snoring could be heard. Raising a finger to his lips, he moved over to the blackboard. Carefully, he grabbed a piece of chalk and began to write as quietly as he could.

_I never noticed it before, but he's wearing gloves… _Jenny thought. Her atmospheric sensors registered the temperature at precisely 87 degrees Fahrenheit. _He's not even sweating _Jenny noticed. Surely enough, McKinley continued to write on the board clad in scarf and trench coat with out a bead of sweat appearing on his wrinkled face.

McKinley stepped back from the board, admiring his work. Indeed it was a nice piece. A fairly elaborate caricature of the sleeping student had been drawn with several _additions _of a less than complementary nature. Above, scrawled in big letters **Detention for you Sleep-face**! McKinley smiled a bit, and turned back around to face the class. "Well that was petty and immature, but damnit if it doesn't feel good. Now, where was I? Oh yes, the gas will travel into this camber right here and the lightning will pass through it. If were lucky, we'll have a few amino acids at the end of all of this." He made a gesture by rotating his wrists. "Of course they might not actually be _done _by today, but it's the thought that counts."

"So that's it in a nutshell, any questions before we begin?" McKinley said clapping his hands as he looked around the classroom. "No? Well let's start this thing then. Pay attention children and try not to grab any loose wires will you?" McKinley moved and tripped the switch that controlled the apparatus.

The air was filled with an electrical charge as the chamber heated. Flashes of lightning sparked in the clouds of gas with audible pops. Jenny watched with a bizarre fascination as McKinley grinned at the scene. She could see his mouth split into a toothy grin, and a ghost of a chuckle began to escape his lips. _He just far too exited about this, _Jenny thought worriedly.

"Yes. Bow to me nature! Obey the Iron hand of Science! I spit at the notion of a finite universe controlled by a being of singular consciousness!" McKinley said, his mouth twisted into a maniacal grin. He began giggling. Almost like they were a single unit, the classroom edged away from McKinley in a symphony of screeching desks. They watched with a morbid fascination, as they saw McKinley become what could be seen as an archetypal mad-scientist. McKinley laughed in earnest for a few more moments, then coughed and regained his composure.

"Ah… Erm… Well, that's certainly exiting isn't it?" He glanced around 'Well there's not much to do until we get a result so…." He rummaged in a pocket, and came out with a pack of playing cards. "Who likes poker?"

As the hum of the electricity coursed through the room, not a sound was made.

Faintly, someone coughed.

* * *

"Commander, Permission to speak?" A bronzed specialist drone queried on the war room of the _Talon. _The war room was a massive structure. Completely Spherical in design, it was devoted to creating massive holographic maps and star charts on demand. A suspended walkway passed through the room and was the only place one could stand without damaging any of the holographic projectors in the room. At the center, the walkway turned into a platform where strategists and navigators went about their business. Tatican himself was leaning against a rail and watching a massive hologram of the Milky Way galaxy float in lazy circles.

Tatican glanced over at the drone with a glint of interest. Tatican had been in the war room since the morning, and this was the first of his soldiers who had spoken to him. The drone itself looked composed and calm, but a jitter in its left arm gave away nervous feelings.

Fear had hung heavy in the air since Smytus' interrogation. Shortly after Smytus' passed, Tatican had proclaimed Smytus' dead from "Complications". This was the official reason for Smytus' death, and it was accepted on the surface. But beneath the exterior, dissent was brewing. The older commanders stood by Tatican as firmly as they had ever and trusted his judgment as they always had. But some of the newer commanders chafed under the report of Smytus' death. It was murder, they said in the dark corners of the fleet. Tatican had listened to the tapes recorded by his military police intently and for now he had decided to let his dissentious commanders live. However, the dissentious commanders were surprised to notice that many of their troops had been placed under the command of more loyal generals.

Gently Tatican stroked a remote with a series of switches along its silvery surface. _Even if they do defy me, _Tatican Mused, _They won't enjoy it for very long. _Still, fear was drifting through the ship like a dense fog, and this drone must have been very brave to speak with Tatican. _Or very curious, _Tatican thought.

Tatican turned to face the specialist "Name and rank." He said in a placid voice. Tatican had millions of troops under his command, and over a thousand on this ship alone. He was hard pressed to remember faces when they were familiar. This face however was new.

"Sir!" The drone saluted "NX-1, Recon droid, Lieutenant sir!"

Tatican rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Lieutenant hmmm… I think I might have use of you."

"Sir?"

"Forget it" Tatican said dismissively "What do you need of me solider."

"Sir, I was sent by Commander Ark-tul. He humbly requests to know information regarding our queen and unfortunately is unable to make it himself. He says he is ever eager to reclaim her." The drone said these words shakily. It was an audacious request. The act of sending a subordinate rather than contacting Tatican in person was a best lazy, and at worse an insult.

Taticans eyes narrowed in thought. Ark-Tul was a newly promoted commander. He was brash, impulsive, inexperienced, and moved around like he had something to prove. Tatican glanced back at the drone, which was gently shaking. It would have been impossible for a human to notice, but Taticans eyes could see the quiver of fear as plain as day. _Ark-Tul wasn't one of the dissenters. _Tatican thought _and there is precious little he could hope to gain from this insult. This is something deeper than what I know. _He looked the drone straight in the eyes

"I am disappointed that Ark-tul could not make the journey to speak with me. I am sure he is busy with whatever project he is working on." Tatican said with veiled menace. "As his intermediary, I will have to explain my plans to you." Tatican cocked his head to the side for a few seconds and a dry pop emerged from his joints. "You should calm down Lieutenant." He said offhandedly "I never shoot the messenger." _They're too valuable otherwise._

"Ah, I was not afraid of that sir, I, ah-"

"Don't lie." Tatican said with a sneer "It's a disgusting habit" He raise a hand to forestall any complaints "According to the dear and departed Smytus, Vexus was last seen on this pathetic ball of dust." Tatican lazily pointed to a location on the holographic star chart. The hologram twisted and morphed until a tiny blue planet filled their view "Earth…"

NX-1 was confused. "Sir, Is this Intel correct? Why would she stay there? It is where she was last defeated. Logic dictates she would fall back to a defensible position."

Tatican sucked in a breath of air at the term 'defeated'. "That is _why _she is there. Our queen is a proud woman. She thinks she is without aid. Her only thought is to strike down the agent of her defeat."

The Specialist shuffled uneasily. "Uhm, Sir, is it… Didn't you… the droids… Sir isn't Smytus dead?"

Tatican raised an eyebrow at the drone's reluctance to name him Smytus' killer. Nothing could be proven of course, but it was common knowledge throughout the ship. "Smytus was certainly a factor in the failure of earth, and he has paid for his incompetence. But the agent of our defeat is someone else entirely… Tell me, what do you know of the X-J9?"

"What the military has told me sir. She is a super advanced robot created by the organics of earth for the purpose of global defense. Any available solider is noticed to capture, not deactivate."

"Yes… Yes that sums it up rather nicely. As it would have it, our queen held a special interest with X-J9 for a long time. She was the most deadly weapon that the Cluster had ever seen. Or at least, the most controlled destructive weapon. Over time this interest turned to an obsession. At the total defeat at earth, I can only assume that obsession has turned to madness."

"Sir? I am not sure that this conversation is not befitting the stature of the queen."

"Befitting of her?" Tatican said, stifling a laugh "It is the truth. I have served under Vexus for fifteen-thousand years solider, and I have known her personally for one-thousand. I know her like the back of my hand"

"But she is the queen sir. Madness? Is that the right word to use?"

"Over my years of command I have found there is little reason to hide the truth from oneself Lieutenant. Vexus has always been impulsive and aggressive. She is strong and determined and she has always gotten what she wanted in the end. I would know, I was the one to give it to her most of the time. She can't process a defeat of this magnitude, she can't process the idea of having to surrender and regroup, so she is falling back on what has always worked in the past. She knows in her heart that there is no way she can conquer the earth by herself when she could not conquer it with her armies. Yet still she tries. Is that not madness?"

"I suppose… But your plan sir, Will you help her in this course of action?"

Tatican turned back toward the hologram "No, I will stop her."

"Sir?" The Drone said, taken aback

"She needs to come back to her people. She can't be chasing after this blue phantom. It ruined her before, and I will _not _let it happen again. We will find her and bring her to a safe and defensible location." Taticans voice had changed. It was thick and throaty.

"But she is the queen sir, what if she refuses?"

Tatican paused for a few seconds, thinking "Well that certainly will be interesting, won't it?"

"Ah, yes. I think it would be sir. Your plans sir?"

"Well, we can assume within 80 certainty that she is somewhere near the home of X-J9, in Tremorton I believe. We will first send in reconnaissance droids to locate her covertly. They will not alert the humans for any reason. The fleet will hide in the nearby solar system and we will dispatch only a frigate inside the earth solar system. The Sol, I think its called"

"That is where you might need me sir?"

"Perceptive. Once we locate the Queen, we will have a strike force establish a beach head inside the perimeter and have them construct a teleport beacon for quick extraction. The XJ-9 is still a problem though. She will need to be distracted by something."

"What would that be sir?"

"You're not authorized to know solider."

"Yes sir, But what about Ark-Tul? Is he not cleared for this?"

"Oh, he is of course. You however are not." Tatican glanced away in an exaggeration of thought "I can maybe get back to him in a week"

"But we will reach the earth within four days sir"

Tatican feigned surprise, "Really? Oh well I guess that's bad luck for Ark-Tul. I might have had something for him to do if he had shown up in person" Tatican said in a silky voice "Now, leave me; I must speak with commanders Niktul and Sheg about the invasion"

The drone bowed and left. As he went scurrying down the walkway, Tatican let out a sigh. He glanced around the war room at the hustle and bustle of activity. No one looked like they had noticed the exchange. Tatican leaned farther onto the rail and watched as the deep blue hologram of the earth spun lazily on its axis. _Politics _he thought _it ha no place on my ship. I will have to discipline Ark-Tul after this. _Tatican thought for a few moments _I think I will let him live. Whoever his master is though… _Tatican opened a comm channel with his military police. "I want a security detail to follow Lieutenant NX-1 back to Commander Ark-Tul covertly. Report back immediately. Authorization Alpha 12.2438" Tatican closed the comm. Channel. He continued to stare at the hologram.

It was going to be a long couple of days in hyperspace.

* * *

Vega sat on a sunlit balcony of the cluster palace. Sunlight dappled the white table and chair she sat at and caused sparkled to dance along a crystal pitcher containing the finest in engine coolants. Synthetic flowers rested in planters around the balcony and were using the ambient energy of the sun to broadcast low power radio signals. To most robots, these signals could be translated into pleasant sensations similar to smell. Vega gingerly sipped a dapple of coolant from a crystal glass, trying hard not to notice the watchful eyes of her security force. Five well trained 'bots stood rigid at every exit and waited, watched for any threat.

The guards were not recruited citizens like the rest of the New Cluster military. They were hold-over's from the previous regime. They were a old line of drones, programmed to be absolutely loyal to the ruler of the cluster. Vega normally thought it distasteful to have droids programmed against their will, but these droids were different. They were tradition, and ever since the inception of the empire, the Cluster Royal Guards had been there. At first they had resisted the regime change, but after the coronation their programming had overridden any complaints. They were now loyal and dedicated soldiers of the New Cluster. They were powerful creatures, a full 7 feet tall and powerfully built. They're heads were styled like full face helms and their body was covered in red and black paint. They wore cloaks made of woven nano-tubes which were as nearly as hard as diamonds, and in they're hands held deadly spears, which were as much ceremonial as practical.

Lunch for Vega was certainly different now that she was queen. Instead of the unrecognizable blobs of iron and carbon she had been served at high school, she now was treated to the best aged coolants and finest prepared bolts. Idly, Vega twirled a seasoned bolt in her hand, and then inserted it into her mouth.

Robot dining from a human viewpoint was rather a non-sequitur, but in reality it was an essential act. The need lied in the power source of a robot. To create a self sustaining robot, a clean and renewable power source is required. Nearly all standard elements in the universe proved to be unsuitable fits, and required a massive amount of energy to keep the robot running. In addition, fusion reactors were dangerous and could not be made small enough. However, the discovery of Zero-point energy introduced a power source that needed no complex chemicals or consumable fuel. All it needed was a handful of minerals.

Robot grade power cores are non explosive, stable and reliable batteries which draw energy from the inherent electrical energy between atomic bonds. On the upside it was free and usable power. On the downside, sometimes the minerals in the reactor would get lost, rust, or otherwise disappear. The solution to this was to have the robot ingest minerals periodically. Now they ate smaller amounts than organics, and far less often, but they still ate. Robot teenagers were known to eat massive amounts by robot standards as they began to create new energy stores for when they would upgrade into adulthood.

Right now, surrounded by luxury, couldn't help but feel a vague sort of longing to go back to what was familiar. She wanted to be in the cafeteria at school. She wanted to be back at those flat grey tables with her friends. She missed her friends most of all. Since she had been crowned, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of them. _As if I have any time for them anyway. _Vega thought.

True enough, many things were going on with Vega. Free time was nearly impossible. She couldn't go to school because she had to look over a new trade agreement. She couldn't hang out because it was a security risk. She couldn't have her friends come over because it was imperative that she get ready for a press release. The entire situation was maddening. She was the queen, and she had less freedom than the basest convict.

As Vega stared into space, a royal guard quietly approached her. "Excuse me my queen, but Lord J-40 of the T-LM-A family requests an audience with you." He said in a brusque whisper.

Vega rolled her eyes and began to stand "I'll be there in a second" she said with a low and exasperated tone.

The guard cleared his throat before she could completely stand "He is here already your majesty. Shall I show him in?"

Vega sat back down in her chair. Her spirits uplifted, she replied "Yes, send him in" The prospect of conducting business somewhere else than the cluster great hall was a magnificent boon. The guard bowed and left for a few moments. As Vega waited, sipping her drink, she heard the tik-tacing of four steel appendages. On the balcony, they sounded like a stenographers typing.

"Is this seat taken?" J-40 said as he rounded the corner into Vegas sight. He gently pulled out a chair across from her.

Vega gave a bit of a half smile "No, does it look like I have company?" J-40 sat himself down with the chair back facing front. It was strange to look at him attempt to sit in the chair obviously not designed for him. It seemed as if he had practice with it though, and in a smooth motion settled into a comfortable spot. He scooted closer to the table.

"I trust your day is going well" J-40 began

Vega made a 'pfft' noise "As well as it's gone since I got this job"

J-40 smiled "I wish I could sympathize with you, your Majesty. But for me the day has been going most splendidly."

Vega made a face "What I wouldn't give to have a few good days."

"You know, Most people would kill to be queen" he motioned to pour himself a glass of coolants. He made a questioning face. Vega nodded, and he poured himself a glass "Thank you. I haven't had a drink since yesterday morning."

"Well they're idiots then-" Vega began "Why anyone would want to be queen is beyond me. I know, I thought it was going to be all fun and games but its _not. _I don't have time for anything but being queen now. I can't even hang out with my friends anymore."

"The reason for that, I think, is that you are governing well. Most everyone else would probably shirk their responsibilities" Vega let out a stressed breath of air as J-40 took a long drink "Ah… That's good stuff. Anyway, Maybe I'm an aberrant, but I would be glad to get away from my friends for a while"

"For three months?"

"Yes actually." Vega gave him a questioning look "I'm a very private person" he replied with a matter of fact tone.

"Really? I think you just don't have any good friends"

"That might be the case. I never really had the drive to look for friends outside the court. But I'm sure that there is anyone I'd like to spend all my time with."

"Oh?"

"As I said, I'm a very private person."

"Well I guess you're better at taking solitude than me"

"I would doubt that. I always have the people in my head to keep me company." J-40 said with a wry smile.

"Cute. Do they have names?"

"Feh. They come and go"

"Well I hear voices too you know." Vega said with a little bit of a theatrical flare. "They say things like 'Yes my queen' and 'your majesty' and 'of course your highness'. The only problem is I can't medicate _those_ voices away."

"Does what they say bother you?"

"Only how they say it really. I do have a name you know."

"Strange, some members of the court insist on being called by their titles."

"They're just useless, and annoying." Vega said with some frustration "I want to hear someone say my name in court for once. Did you know that since I was crowned, not a single person has used my real name? It's like they don't think I'm a person. They called Mom Queen Vexus. They just call me Queen." She finished the sentence with a little petulance.

"Well if it bothers you that much, just order everyone to call you by your name."

"It's not that simple. People expect me to be queen; I can't just go around changing all the rules on them. Things are bad enough as it is." Vega replied with exasperation.

"It seems to me if you don't like something, you should change it." His eyebrows raised a bit "And let everyone else be damned"

Vega eyed him closely "And an act like that would never catch on. What are you, stupid?"

"I've been told I am. I still don't see why you couldn't just give a decree about it."

"It doesn't work that way. I'd have to write a treaty, and then I would need to get the court to approve it" she shrunk a bit back in her chair "Besides… It would be so embarrassing" No matter how powerful she was right now, on the inside she was still just a teenage girl.

J-40 raised a single eyebrow "I still think you should do it."

"Well if it's that easy, I order you to call me by my name Lord J-40"

He raised a single finger "on one condition"

"A condition? I am your queen." She gave a mock scowl "I thought you were supposed to do what I say."

"Well if you're going to change something like that I should at least be granted a boon I think" He smiled "In respect to fairness"

"Nothing in life is fair"

"You sound like your mother you know"

Vega winced "Fine, name your price"

"Drop the lord bit when talking to me. I think if your going to be making radial demands like that-" he gave a sidelong glance at her "-we should at least be on the same level."

"Al right… J-40."

"That's better. If you feel crazy you could call me Jordy, Vega." He gave a wry smile "Jordan would be even better though." Both laughed a bit.

"A nickname? You don't look like the sort to have one."

"Well, it was one of my friends. J-40 sounds a bit like 'Jordy' so they just called me that." He shrugged "I tried to get them to stop, but that never works. They thought it was funny you see. So I just sort of slowly changed it to Jordan." He looked like he was thinking for a bit "I rather think I like Jordan better though. J-40 just seems, impersonal, understand?"

"Yeah, I think I do" Vega felt a bit of a blush creep into her cheeks. This was the only person who talked to her earnestly in the last three months besides Gerzon. Gezon didn't count though; he was more like a trusted friend of the family. J-40 was acting more like an equal. _It's been a while since I actually had a talk with someone who wasn't trying to get me to grant them something. _She winced. He was trying to get something she remembered. She straightened her back and willed her face to a more serious expression. "So what do you actually want to speak with me about Jordan?"

His face grew serious "That is actually of a more serious matter" He leaned in closer to Vega "I have located a central and important location to the Ghosts in the Machine"

Vega was eleated "That's fantastic news! Why wo-"

"Shhh!" J-40 said as he desperately pressed his finger to his lips, he looked around nervously, his voice a whisper. Vega had to lean in close to hear him "There's more. I decided to take a small force and scout the location out. So we get there and we don't find a thing. Except for in the south wall, a single panel in an otherwise perfectly normal room has been removed"

"And this is important why?"

"That's just what I thought. So I had an intelligence guy's crunch some numbers and I found out an interesting thing. That angle just so happened to be directly in line with you're bedroom"

Vega blushed "Wait. You mean someone's spying on me while I sleep?"

J-40 looked perplexed for a second, then realization struck him. He waved his hands frantically. "No. I think- I- Not really- I mean, I don't _think _they are. They went to too much trouble securing the place to want to do something like that. I think its something else."

"Like what?"

"I think they're trying for Checkmate" J-40 whispered, low enough that Vega had difficulty making out the word.

"What?" Vega was confused

"I- I mean I think they're trying to kill you"

"What?" Vega said, a little panic creeping into her voice "Why? How? Are you sure?"

"I can't think of another reason. The angle is perfect for the shot if you were to stand in front of the mirror for any length of time." He looked at her from the corner of his eyes "Do you do that?"

"Sometimes… in the morning usually, When I get ready for school, I mean court. Sorry. I get them mixed up sometimes." She looked at J-40 seriously "You really think these people are sending an assassin?" Vega asked. She knew that these terrorists were ruthless and held some sort of resentment for the government, but the idea of them staging an assassination was beyond belief. And it was even more shocking that the target was her… Rationally she knew that the terrorists would plan something like this, but emotionally she was stunned.

J-40 continued talking "It looks like it. What I'm worried about though is the precision they have here. I've checked the numbers of every possible angle on my computer, and this is the only place that someone could get a reliable shot. Even then they would need to know your exact daily routine. And the only way they could get that information is if they had someone on the inside."

"But who? Who would so that sort of thing?"

"I don't know. It could be anyone really. I suspect some noble. I can't be sure though, which is why I have a plan to draw them out."

"The conspirator? Or the terrorist?"

"Both hopefully" J-40 looked Vega in the eyes. "But if this is going to work, I'll need your help"

Vega looked back into J-40's eyes. She remembered the last time she locked eyes with him. The passion he had been full of in court that day was gone, now replaced by a cold fire of determination. Vega bit her lip. Could she trust him? Did he mean what he said? She held the gaze for what seemed like an hour. Slowly, she reached a decision.

"What do you need?" She said in a flat tone

J-40's lips twitched into the ghost of a smile. "Thank you. I know it must be hard to trust me." He glanced around "First, don't speak of this to anyone except those that are absolutely trustworthy. I can't tell who is on our side and who isn't, but until then we need to keep this quiet. Any leak of information could cause them to flee before we can even see them."

"No one can be trusted. That's what you're saying" Vega said dully

J-40 looked pleased "Yes. Exactly. You can't be too careful. Now" he said pausing slightly as he began to phrase his question "Do you know what the shell game is?"

* * *

By the time J-40 excused himself, the sun had sunk low in the sky. Dimly, Vega knew that she had to attend evening court, but her body trembled. Someone in there, she knew, was trying to kill her. _And there might still be others _Vega thought. She fiercely wished she was just back in school. Back before Jenny, back before the golden chips, back before anything. Without thinking, she was walking down the hallway, down to court.

She barely noticed the fanfare as she entered the great hall. She took her seat in the throne as she watched the vast expanse of Cluster nobles stretch before her, and she was chilled. She looked into their faces, and wondered. Who was it who wanted her dead? Was it one of them? Why would they want to? Unconsciously, she grabbed her arms in a protective posture. Paranoia was beginning to creep in. In her eyes, the world was now a very dangerous place.

Every cup hid poison, every shadow; a knife.

* * *

Whoo! I made it! I actually updated!

For a while there, I didn't think I was going to make it. I was just sitting at home; re-reading _A Feast for Crows _By George R.R. Martin and suddenly I realized that in three more days it would have been an entire week since I last worked on my Fanfic. That was a weird feeling. It reminds me of a thing I heard at Comic-Con though.

I went to Comic-Con in San Diego this year (It was a blast, I might add) and I was lucky enough to get to sit in on a panel on Neil Gaiman. I am a huge fan of his (If anyone has read _Stardust _or _Anasi boys_ you can tell from my chapter titles already) Anyway, he gets to a part where he is answering questions from people in the audience (I get all fanboy shy in front of people like that and didn't say anything) This guy asks Gaiman "what is the most difficult thing about writing". Neil begins to answer, and gets to a point where he begins to talk about distractions. He says "The easiest thing for a writer to do is something else". I trusted that at the time, but now I can be certain it's true. Its just so easy to do something else

In regards to this chapter, it's a little slow. I can safely say Tatican is going in a box for a while as I talk about more plot central characters. You know, like ones tat actually appeared in the show. Juggling all these sub-plots is making my head dizzy. I needed to get this chapter out of the way so I can use it as a segway to more exiting ones. In the next chapter, I promise you action! Exiting action too, with like, Ninja (Not really any ninja). On a different note, I have defeated the mysterious shrinking chapter's problem.

Anyway, this is the part where I demand for reviews in a vaguely threatening/ demeaning way (It's my special way of saying thanks) followed by a allegory, so here it goes. Review me! As supreme overlord of the world, I demand it! Bring to me reviews like you would bring burnt offerings! Don't worry, I can take it! I'm a big boy; I can take constructive criticism, or even just criticism!

I hope everyone is enjoying my fevered scribblings. Have a wonderful weekend.

By the way, the chemical compound they created in the last chapter was thermite. Look it up Yo.


	5. Chapter 5

Ties of Blood, Ties of Oil

A "My life as a teenage robot" Fanfic

Chapter 5:

Where we discover that all is not as it seems with James McKinley

The sun beat down on Jenny as she began the long walk back home. She enjoyed the feeling of walking home after school much more than flying home. Sure, flying got you there quicker, but if you flew you didn't get to talk to your friends. As it was, she walked down the grey sidewalk with Brad. His face was screwed up into an unpleasant scowl as he walked and he grumbled angrily about school.

"I swear to flipin' God! What the hell does Mrs. Cravats think she's trying to pull? A frikkin' essay due in a week? Twelve pages no less!" Brad fumed. His shoulders were hunched and his hands jammed in his pockets as he walked.

"Chill brad" Jenny said "You have a week to get it done"

He snorted "Easy for you to say Jen, you're a robot. I bet you can whip an essay out faster than I can draft mine"

"Oh come on. I have just as much trouble on mine as you would on yours" Jenny said hotly. This was true for the most part. Though her essays took a fraction of the time a normal human took. Her brain could process millions of calculations per second, effectively stretching a second to what would seem like an hour to her.

He rolled his eyes "Right, like I'll believe that" Jenny narrowed her eyes as s few tense seconds passed

"So…" Jenny began, trying to lighten the tension "What are you doing your essay on?"

"Ehhh. I was thinking early 21st century England" He made a dismissive gesture "You know, like 2010 and 2020"

Jenny raised an eyebrow "That's a little strange for a history essay don't you think? I don't think we were taught much about that."

"Nah, it'll be a snap. My dad's big English culture collector, we have tons of crap around the house I can ask him about."

"Really? I would have never guessed"

"It was something about a trip he took there when he was a kid. After they lifted the quarantine you know."

"Yeah, I think I saw something about that"

Brad looked over at Jenny "So what are you doing? Let me guess…"

"The 1970's!" they said in unison. Jenny's tone was longing, while Brads carried a sort of dull expectation.

Brad gave Jenny a questioning look. "Why do you like that century so much anyway?"

Jenny sighed "I don't know really. It's just so exiting. The clothes, the music, it's all just so different from now."

"Right, wasn't that when that guy got impeached? Uh… was it Nixon?"

"Yeah, and it was before global nationalism started to be proposed."

Brade gave a thoughtful look "That must have been a weird time" Brad mused "Different governments on the same planet. Well, not unified ones at least."

"It would have been easier for me if that was still the case. I'd only have to defend the United States instead of the world."

"But then you wouldn't get to have so many awesome adventures."

Jenny rolled her eyes "You are far to interested in 'adventure' you know that?"

"It's a recurring problem. Or so I'm told"

"It wouldn't be so bad. But I've had to stay up all night last night to try and catch this idiot of a hacker"

"Yeah, I think I remember you telling me about that. How's it going?"

"Bad. He's just too slippery to just beat to a pulp, and I've been thinking about doing just that for a while now. But I've got him this time."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"I've set up a trap. It won't go off till I say, so he won't notice it tied to anything he's trying to hack. So the next time he tries anything, Bam! Snare trap!"

"So you think you have it handled?"

"As well as I can hope for. Really, he's a tricky guy."

"Well if you need any help, I'm sure Sheldon could give you a hand" Brad said as he jerked a thumb toward a figure in the distance.

Jenny looked over her shoulder to get a better look at whoever Brad was pointing at. In the distance Sheldon, clad in his white t-shirt, jeans, and brown hoody, was running toward the two teenagers. His face was red with exertion as he ran, and it was obvious he had been running for a while. In his pasty hands he held a small CD case in a vice-like grip.

Most people didn't notice it, but Sheldon actually had powerful hands and forearms. Jenny noticed, but only because her eyes recorded _everything. _From temperature to density to an ultrasonic map everything was recording constantly in her head. If she had to guess it would be all that mechanic work he did. She rolled her eyes to herself _Another thing a can't tell anyone about. Just imagine what would happen if people knew I recorded everything? No one would talk to me. I don't think even Brad would be comfortable with it. _Her upper lip scrunched up _And I can't forget anything either. That would come in handy, especially when Sheldon's involved. _

She looked over at the CD case he was holding. _It's probably another present or something. God I could just die of embarrassment if it's some sort of upgrade. _With a bit of resentment she remembered the ears Sheldon had made for her _Ooohh, this is not going to end well. _She forced a smile she didn't feel. It wasn't like she didn't like Sheldon. He was nice and all, but he was just a little creepy. She waved "Hi Sheldon!" Brad gave a wave as well, though his was far more sincere.

Sheldon ran up to them in short time. When he finally stopped in front of them he was doubled over, panting. Through gasps he managed to wheeze out "Hey… Brad… Jenny… I was just… Trying to… Catch up… with you…. Guys" He raised a hand weakly as he attempted to stand.

"Woah there man, take a few seconds to catch your breath" Brad said "What's the hurry?"

Having finally caught his breath, Sheldon stood up from his crouched position "Well, My last class is on the other side of the campus, and I wanted to talk to Jenny before the day ended. Cause I had heard that she was feeling sick a while back, but I wasn't able to talk to her then, so I thought I'd run up this diagnostic program here" he held up the CD proudly "And try and find out what was wrong with her" he looked over at Jenny "But she seems fine now, so I just thought maybe she'd want it anyway. Do you Jen?"

Jenny made a face like she was thinking "Ah, well that's nice Sheldon, but I really don't need it. See, Mr. McKinley had a-"

"Hey, you guys have McKinley too" Sheldon interrupted, his face beaming.

"Yeah, we both have him" Brad said, "Isn't it cool?"

"I know, did you see that-"

"-Thermite reaction? Yeah I did. Did you hear what he was going to do next?"

"No what?"

"Well I heard he was trying to get a particle accelerator."

"What is he going to do with that?"

"I don't know really…"

Brad snapped his fingers "Oh, hey, whats your Nick-name?"

"I'm Think-Sack, you?"

"Sweater-vest" Sheldon looked over at Jenny "What's your nickname Jen? I bet it's a really nice one" He smiled shyly

She looked away to the side with an aggravated expression. "I don't have a nickname. Honestly, I don't see why you guys like him."

Sheldon looked a little confused 'You don't have a Nickname?"

"No. He just calls me by my last name"

Brad chimed in "I think it a little weird too. Everyone in the class has a nickname, even the ones he hates"

Sheldon looked thoughtful "Same thing in my class. Uh, Jenny, you didn't you know, say anything to him weird right?"

She looked cross "No, nothing at all. He called me chrome dome once after class, but that's it." She glared at no one in particular "It's creepy. He keeps on staring at me and asking me questions. And no matter what I say he always gives me this weird look. The only nice thing he's done so far is give me that anti-virus, and even then he was just doing it because he was pissed off."

Sheldon looked to the side "So you won't need the diagnostic then…"

"No, I'm fine."

Sheldon looked like he was going to say something when Brad positioned himself between Sheldon and jenny. He looked over at Sheldon with a grin. "I have my own theory why Mr. McKinley is so weird about Jenny." He smile became sly "Or perhaps why _Jenny _is so weird about McKinley."

Jenny looked back at brad with an annoyed look. "Don't you start that again Brad…"

"What?" Sheldon asked incredulously

Brad pushed himself in front of both of them and began walking backwards, facing both Sheldon and Jenny. "I think it is best summed up by the late 20th century music band 'the Police' and their song '_Don't stand so close to me_'. Personally I don't listen to them, but my grandpa is rather interested"

Jenny raised a threatening fist "I'm warning you Brad"

If he heard, he didn't care. Taking in a whole gulp of air, Brad began to sing. It wasn't the best singing, and was a bit screechy, but it was doing what it was intended to do, annoy Jenny. "_Young teacher/ the subject/ of schoolgirl fantasy/-" _He began

"God damn it Brad! Shut up!" Jenny said, a flush rising to her cheeks.

Ignoring her, Brad continued singing. Jenny moved to stop him but he nimbly moved away spouting more vintage music. As they chased each other around, Sheldon tried to catch there attention "Guys? Hey guys? I need to- Jenny can't- come on guys!" Oblivious, they continued to chase each other around. Brad had run out of lyrics now, and was just repeating the chorus jubilantly. As the struggle began in earnest, a shrieking beep added to the confusion.

With Brad in a vicious headlock, Jenny glanced down at her blinking naval. She smiled, her frustration at Brad evaporating. "Ha! That little bastard so going to get it. I need to go guys" She said with a bit of a light spirit. She glared at Brad, who was still firmly held underneath her arm "Don't think you're off the hook you bastard" she let him fall to the concrete. "See you guys later!" she said, and in a flare of blue jet-light she blasted away

"Jenny wait!" Sheldon said as she rocketed away "Anti-Virus software doesn't work like that!" She didn't hear him, and blasted off into the stratosphere.

"What are you talking about?" Brad said as he stood up from the pavement. He dusted his white shirt off.

Sheldon gave Brad a disapproving look "You shouldn't treat her like that Brad. It's not nice."

Brad made a dismissive noise "Yeah, whatever lover boy" He smoothed his hair back into place "But it was funny right?"

"Yeah… But don't tell Jenny." He said with a little desperation "I have enough trouble with her as it is"

Brad chuckled "Sure, whatever man. So what was that you were trying to say back there?" he paused as he tried to remember "Something about a Virus' right?"

Sheldon rubbed the back of his head "Yeah. It's complicated." He turned to look at Brad "It's about how a virus works, right. See, you can't just blanket treat them. Each computer virus has a-" Brad began to doze off as Sheldon got into his tech speak. It was fine and all that Sheldon was so smart, but in Brad's opinion it just wasn't that entertaining.

Sheldon stopped "Are you even listening?"

Brad shook his head 'Yeah, totally" he blinked "Continue"

"Well, computer virus' can only be destroyed if you know how to get that particular one. That's why I made that diagnostic, to see what virus' Jenny got. When Jenny got that anti-virus from McKinley it cured her, but he didn't know what the virus was! He couldn't have given her the right disk unless he _knew _what virus she had."

"So you're saying, McKinley had something to do with the original virus?"

Sheldon looked thoughtful "I don't know for sure…" His pasty face hardened "But I'm going to find out"

Brad rose an eyebrow "What? Are you going to _spy _on him?"

Sheldon thought for a few seconds "Well I was just going to confront him in class but your idea is much better."

* * *

The virtual landscape around the U.N embassy was hosting an uninvited guest. Through the pixilated grass, something was stirring. A ripple of air slowly pushed its way through the bent fence bars that surrounded the embassy and proceeded to crawl across the verdant green lawn. Its progress was agonizingly slow as it moved hand over hand through the field. As it continued its measured crawl, it was completely focused on the squat white building in front of it. It was so focused in fact, that it only paused in its crawl to avoid the watchful eyes of the internal countermeasures. 

This probably was the reason it failed to notice the bright blue snare in front of it.

As the first swirling appendage entered the blue circle, the snare came to life. Twisting and coiling like a live animal, it snapped shut around the wispy apparition's limb. The ripple in the air gave a strangled gasp as the snare shot out an additional rope the encircled his other appendage, binding it like a vice. With a taught twang the snare went tight and the line pulled itself out of the grass. It led back out to the virtual street of the internet.

With a sound like a zipper the snare sped out onto the street carrying a screaming ball of rippling air behind it. As it pulled the apparition through the field, the wispy ball of air bounced off the meticulously maintained grass, kicking up tufts of dirt as it went, before banging against a wrought iron bar of the gate. The snare continued its mad dash, intruder in tow, over a street sign. Finally it stopped in a position centered on a street sign with the apparition swaying gently in the virtual breeze three feet from the ground. It groaned in pain as the stealth program deactivated, revealing the fiery visage of Loki.

"Ha! I finally got you, you little bastard!" Jenny said as she walked out from behind an adjacent building. Her face was fixed in a smug expression as she walked over and there was a bounce in her step as well. Halfway through she stopped to throw up the horns, a little trick she had learned from Brad, by extending her index and pinky fingers while closing her thumb around her middle and ring finger. She moved close to the hacker. Loki, she liked to call him, who was hanging helplessly three feet above the ground by his wrists. She smiled "So how's it going on up there?"

Loki shook his head "Oww… What the hell hit me…" he moaned. He glanced around until he saw Jenny. His face contorted into an apologetic expression. "Oh! Hey there girl." He looked around nervously "So we don't have any problems with the whole wrecking your computer bit do we. Heh, all fair and love and war right?" Jenny only replied with cross eyes. "Oh come on lady!" Loki whined "It was just a little virus! And you got over it. Now I admit that it might have been a little excessive to mail you a kill program but that doesn't change the fact that you saved your computer. Tell you what, how bout I get you some spending money and you let me go? You know, make yourself pretty and the like." He smiled a winning grin.

Jenny raised an eyebrow "Mhm. You keep on talking boy." Her hand morphed with a few whirrs of mechanized gears into a strange tube like appendage with a needle at the end.

Loki looked panicked "Wh-whats that for?"

Jenny smirked "Well since I can't really do anything to you in here besides wail on you a bit, I thought I'd trace your IP. You know, find out where your body is, and then smack you around a bit." She moved the tube to Loki and stabbed it into his arm, which elicited a sharp squeal of pain "And then, you know, take you to jail."

Loki sucked in a breath "Jesus girl! Have you ever heard of a bedside manner?" With a smile he shot a lecherous glance at Jenny "I bet you would be pretty cute in a nurse's outfit though"

Jenny controlled her instinctive blush "Oh, you're just asking for it now."

"I know, I know. I'm incorrigible." He looked at the needle in his arm "Yeah, that's not working out for me so well. So I have a different Idea. If you let me go, I won't have to get rough"

Jenny laughed "Get rough? What are you going to do? Sway at me"

"Very funny girl" He said "But it's not me who's going to fight you. Computer! Run ThorBot.exe!"

'What?" Jenny exclaimed as the sky above began to brew with menacing storm clouds. It began to rain and the gentle breeze turned into a gale. She noticed that Loki was being blown around madly in the wind, laughing. As the rain touched his flaming hair it sizzled and evaporated while his voice rose to a shrieking giggle. As she stood dumfounded, a crack of thunder pealed overhead.

In a blinding flash and an overpowering crack of thunder, Lighting lanced downward from the rolling clouds and struck the pavement between Jenny an Loki. In an effort to shield herself, Jenny was forced to recall the needle in Loki's arm in order to cover her eyes. Gravel showered the terrain around them, and from the crater of the street, stood the largest natural man Jenny had ever seen.

He was a full eight feet tall, and wore a tight fitting suit of chain mail across his massive chest. Atop his bright blonde hair and beard, he wore a helmet of steel with wings set atop it. In his hands he held a heavy stone hammer with bolts of electricity dancing about it. His square jaw was set into a menacing scowl. "Who Summons Thor?" he yelled in a titanic shout, which caused rafters to shake and Jenny to flinch. He hefted his hammer and placed it in his palm menacingly.

Loki paused in his laughter for a few seconds to bark out a command "ThorBot! Execute plan Omega 6, threat level five on that girl!"

ThorBot's eyes went dead for a few seconds, then flared back to life "Command comprehended, execute program Omega 6. Threat level five, cripple target" He hefted his mallet "Run ThorLightning.exe" Lightning crackled around the mallet as a bolt of electricity flashed forward to Jenny.

She was ready for cyber combat this time and nimbly sidestepped the lightning. "Loki," she growled "I have had it up to friggin _here _with you" she made a gesture wither hand placed at her temple. She clenched her hands in anger, and with a whir they morphed into massive saw blades, which began to buzz menacingly as they rotated. Keeping low, she dashed towards the burly man. Her saw blades were held behind her as she ran, periodically making sparks against the pavement. As his beady black eyes following her, ThorBot raised his mallet again, and launched another bolt of lightning at her. As the bolt streaked towards Jenny, she cart wheeled to the side and avoided the electric lance. More bolts flew at her, and each time her superhuman reactions saved her as she ran closer and closer to the ThorBot, until she was only three feet away from him.

The ThorBot raised its hammer once more, but this time brought it down with both hands in a massive blow. Jenny desperately raised her buzz saws across her face to defend against the hammer. The blow landed with the dry clang of shattering metal as Jenny's saws broke into a thousand pieces, sending her sprawling backwards in a mad spiral across the pavement.

Loki shrieked encouragement as ThorBot moved to free his master with a precisely aimed spark of lightning. As Loki fell to the ground he rubbed his wrists "Great job Thor, great job. Now" He looked over at the smoking form of Jenny as she began to rise from the rubble "Teach her a lesson" ThorBot stood up tall and raised his hammer once more.

Jenny pushed her self to her feet just as Thor Began to release his lightning. Her face scrunched up in determination as she began to morph. Her chest unfolded into a long pole aimed at the fast approaching lightning, while her arms merged to form a strange dish like apparatus. She widened her stance. The lighting hit with a dry crack as it was absorbed into the pole, which acted as a lighting rod. Arcs of energy rolled off her body in a cascade of blue light as the lightning was redirected, contained, and amplified. It funneled into the dish where it grew into a massive ball of energy, all while leaving Jenny unharmed. She smiled as she released the torrent of destruction back at Thor.

It was like a line of blue light that erupted back at ThorBot, fully thirteen feet across in diameter and hotter than the surface of the sun. ThorBot raised his hammer to defend, but it passed over him and through him with an unparalleled force. ThorBot had barley time to yell before he was forcibly disconnected, leaving behind a pile of smoking ash. Loki looked in dumbfounded amazement at the pile that had once been ThorBot. Transforming back into her normal form, Jenny began to walk forward, scattering ThorBots ashes as she walked through them. "So what was this about crippling me?"

Loki looked up, his face full of shock and fear "Uh, you know what? I think I need to leave now" He vanished in a pillar of fire

Jenny smirked to herself "Yeah, you better run"

* * *

Sheldon sat hunched in a tree, clutching in a pair of binoculars and watching the red building in front of him with an unparalleled vigilance. It had taken a little while to find out exactly where Mr. McKinley lived, but he had done it. He repositioned himself to get a better look at the third story of the apartment. The windows were still dark, but Sheldon had seen McKinley enter the building only a few moments ago. Soon, he would be in his room. 

Subterfuge came natural to Sheldon, like swimming came naturally to a fish. Sheldon liked to think that it was bred into him, but more likely it was a learned talent. His entire life had been lived with him being pushed around by other kids because he was weak or weird. It was just a natural progression for him to become good at hiding. As he hung in that tree, it proved to be a useful skill.

A light went on in the apartment and Sheldon grabbed his binoculars and thrust them to his eyes. Through the dual lenses, Sheldon watched as McKinley stepped into his apartment. It was cluttered and small, with refuse scattered around haphazardly and furniture several years past their prime. Machines and computer terminals sat around the apartment, sending out wires like copper spider webs across the floor. McKinley nimbly stepped over the wires and moved toward his fridge. With a smooth motion he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a silver flask. He uncorked it, and swallowed a draught. His face screwed up in disgust and h coughed, but he continued drinking. He moved over to his couch, and began pressing buttons on a nearby keyboard. A series of lights went on around the room, and McKinley took another drink from his flask. He began to tug at his scarf, and threw it on the floor.

Sheldon made to look away and at least give McKinley the privacy of changing, but he was forced to look at the sight he saw. Instead of pale pink flesh on McKinley's neck was a dark blue covering. Light glinted of McKinley's neck like as it would against a polished metal surface. Sheldon looked on with fascination as McKinley took of his gloves and threw them into a pile near his scarf. Sheldon noted that only his right hand had the strange covering over it. McKinley shrugged off his coat as he sat down on his couch and took another mighty swig from his flask. He pulled his shirt over his head, revealing plates of blue-black metal covering the entire left side of his body, merged flawlessly with the pale white skin on his left torso, back and left arm.

The plating ran from his neck to his right arm, and from there it covered his abdominal muscles with interlocking plates, his back was mostly untouched, except for plates the cruelly bit into his spine, causing the flesh around them to be pinched painfully red. Four tubes extended from the metal spine, and were like caves set upon the back of McKinley. McKinley Leaned over, took off his glasses, and scooped out what looked like contacts from his eyes, revealing piercing green screens in place of natural eyes. He blinked a few times and then leaned over to study a nearby monitor.

Sheldon Leaned back in his tree branch perch, astonished _Is he a robot? _Sheldon thought _No, if he was a robot he wouldn't nee d to cover himself up, he'd just morph. I think… _Sheldon began to feel a bit of excitement rise inside his stomach. _He's a cyborg! The first recorded human cyborg on earth. This, this is amazing. How did they get the flesh to accept the machines? How did, _who _did this? This is- this- this is crazy! _Sheldon's mind was racing. Everything he had learned about cybernetics said that it was absolutely impossible to replace that much on a person with machines. According to all modern medical studies, McKinley should be a twitching mass of flesh right now. He looked intently through his binoculars back into the apartment.

McKinley had his Keyboard on his lap and was staring into a nearby monitor, taping away madly. Every so often, he would stop to take another swig from the silver flask. He reached over across the couch to pull another computer towards him as he worked. Speechless, Sheldon watched as tendrils emerged from McKinley's back and snaked toward the new computer. They looked like some sort of fiber optic cable with red glowing lights at the tips, surrounded by the same blue-black metal of McKinley's cybernetic body. The tips unfolded into tiny hands and began to strike separate keys as McKinley continued to type on his computer. One of the four tendrils that had emerged looked lazily around the room. Then it stopped.

Sheldon's breath caught in his throat. It was looking at him.

Instantly, McKinley looked up from his computer and looked right at Sheldon with such intensity that Sheldon's heart turned to ice. The Tendrils from McKinley's back sprang up to look at Sheldon and glowed a fiery red. McKinley stood up with enough force to send his couch rolling, and began to move quickly toward the window, his face livid. As He ran the plates on his neck slid and transformed, covering his head in a form fitting full-face helm.

Sheldon swore as he tried to climb down from his perch. His grip slipped and he fell, hitting several branches on his way down, before hitting the ground with a bone-jarring thud. Luckily it was only soft dirt, and it didn't feel like anything was broken. His breath was driven from him in the fall, but he scrabbled to his feet. Coughing and gulping air, Sheldon fled. "Sheldon!" He heard McKinley yell, his voice thick with frustration. Sheldon didn't stop running, fear overwhelming his senses. He needed to get to Jenny; she'd know what to do. Behind him, he heard the firing of pistons and a titanic thud as McKinley jumped from his Third story room. Sheldon cursed his luck. No one was out this late at night, and no one was around to see this exchange. Heedless of direction, he ducked into a nearby alley.

Sheldon froze. _A dead end _He thought as he saw the looming brick wall at the end of the alley. He looked around franticly as the mechanical footsteps of McKinley grew closer _Need something, anything. Need a weapon _He thought frantically. His eyes saw an abandoned piece of pipe in a dumpster and grabbed it. Now armed, Sheldon sunk behind a trashcan into the shadows.

In a flurry of motion, McKinley rounded the corner. His tendrils waved in the air and darted back and forth, searching. He was in a low crouch as he stalked into the alley. In a low voice, thick with anger, he spoke "Sheldon, I know what you saw here is a little strange, but you have to believe me when I say I don't mean to hurt you. But I can _not _let you tell anyone bout my… ah, condition." He stalked forward into the alley and looked deeply into the shadows. His Helmet visor was a lime green, and obscured his eyes. "Let's talk about this like reasonable men, won't we?" He moved farther into the alley.

Sheldon was completely rigid. Some mechanical monstrosity was only a few feet away from him, and _hunting _him. It evoked the most primal instincts, the ones that dated back to the first monkeys. Fight or Flight, the urges battled in the darkest recesses of Sheldon's mind. Sweat was pouring from him by the pint.

McKinley stopped in the middle of his stalk. "Salt, Bacteria, urea…" He said quietly "Sweat." His head swiveled towards Sheldon's hiding place, along with his four tendrils. He began walking deliberately toward the trashcan. Sheldon's instincts went into overdrive, pouring every ounce of adrenaline into his body. Fight or Flight, he needed to choose. He swung.

Springing out from behind the trashcan, Sheldon swung his makeshift clung in a horizontal arc, which connected with McKinley squarely in the head. The impact snapped McKinley's head to the side, and his body followed with it, sending him stumbling into a nearby wall. Sheldon tried to hold onto the pipe, but its collision with the solid metal surface of the helmet sent painful vibrations through his hands, forcing him to release the pipe with a strangled cry. It skittered across the floor into a shadow.

McKinley coughed "Fuck!" he said incredulously "You fucking hit me!" Moving his right arm so that his palm faced the pavement, he propelled himself toward Sheldon. He raised his left hand and brought it crashing down in a fist onto Sheldon's eye. Sheldon Gasped as he was knocked onto his back and felt his elbows shred on the asphalt. He had barely time to open his eyes before McKinley was on him, grabbing Sheldon by the shirt collar and slamming him into an adjacent wall. Sheldon felt himself be lifted against the wall until his feet dangled inches above the ground. His eye was painfully swollen and his elbows were bleeding and itching like mad. He could fear his eyes welling up with tears from the shock and pain.

McKinley held Sheldon above the ground with both hands. Sheldon could see that McKinley's natural arm was bulging, and a large vein in it was throbbing with some sort of black liquid. He glanced around as he saw McKinley's tendrils move closer to his face, hovering in front of him like some sort of demonic goblins.

McKinley spoke in a strained voice, distorted by his helmet. "Who the hell sent you boy?" his grip tightened on Sheldon's collar "CIA? NSA? I told them to go screw off, you understand me? Who sent you?" He gave Sheldon a shake, causing Sheldon to hit his head against the back of the wall.

"No-No one" Sheldon managed to gasp out. He coughed a few times as McKinley's grip tightened on his larynx.

"Liar!" McKinley growled, slamming Sheldon into the wall hard enough for brick dust to fall around them.

"No, its true!" Sheldon held his hands up "I-I was just trying to find out how you cured Jenny." His voice was high and cracking "Just, just… I didn't mean anything by it! She was sick, and you knew how to fix her without running a diagnostic. I was… Please don't hurt me!"

"Jenny? The XJ9?" McKinley relaxed, and he let Sheldon slide down the wall. Sheldon watched in wary fascination as McKinley's helmet issued a hiss of compressed air, and collapsed back into his neck. He looked depressed, like the fight had gone out of him. Ove he left side of his face was a wicked cut, where his helmet had smashed into his head from Sheldon's pipe. A weird red and black liquid oozed from the wound. He let go of Sheldon. "Right, follow me"

Sheldon looked at him like a caged animal "Why should I listen to you?"

He glared back at Sheldon "Because if you don't your parents are going to be paying for your wired up jaw. Seriously, how do you not get this? I'm bigger and stronger than you and you want to find something out, this is how it works. I tell you things so you won't bother me and I break your jaw if you tell anyone." He jerked his thumb over to his car, "Get in."

Sheldon was afraid, but not so afraid that he was going to try something stupid like bolting. McKinley seemed calmer now, and he had said something about telling him Information. He opened the car door and got inside. Seconds later, McKinley slid into the driver's seat and started the car.

"Where are we going?" Sheldon asked

"Back to your god damned house, idiot." McKinley replied "It's Midnight and you have school tomorrow. When your parents hear about this…"

"There not home. My Dad's a merchant marine and My Mon's a geologist in Hawaii."

"Really, well it's your lucky day you little bastard." McKinley sighed "So I bet your wondering why I look like this."

Sheldon gave a slight smile "It crossed my mind"

McKinley gave a sardonic grin. "Yeah. But before I tell you anything, I will have to stress this to you." He looked over and glared at Sheldon "If you tell _anyone, _especially the XJ9, I will end you." He raised an eyebrow "You get that?"

Sheldon sank back into his chair "Yes sir…"

"Good. So…" McKinley said, trying for a conversational tone "What do you want to know?"

Sheldon thought for a second "Was… Was it you who gave Jenny that virus?"

McKinley was quiet for a bit, his fingers drummed on the steering wheel "Yes, I did it. Or more accurately I facilitated it. I didn't know she was a person though" He stared straight ahead "I thought she was just another hacker, not a robot."

"If… If you gave it to her, why did you fix her?"

"That…" McKinley said slowly "Is… Well it's…. It's complicated"

* * *

And were done. Whoo, that was a doozy. I admit it; I need help on my action scenes, but I think they got the idea across. I f I could change anything, I think I would try and, you know, make them suck less. Aslo, Apologies to Sting and the Police. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, honestly! 

Anyway… Questions? Comments? If you don't I may get angry, and you won't like me when I'm angry (Cause, I'll turn into a really big green guy and totally waste like three city blocks). So you better review me, because I don't like running through downtown with only a pair of purple shorts.

And as too Dr. Madwoman, good guesses! Though I wasn't thinking about those realities, I could definitely see Tatican as Vexus' father (Though is he? Muahhahaha, I'll never tell. Until, I do tell. In the story)

I need to go now, so before I go I just want to say thanks to everyone for their support. Seriously, if it wasn't for the ego padding I get from the reviews and hit, I'd have probably given up by now.

See you, and remember, Chicks dig giant robots.


	6. Chapter 6

Ties of Blood, Ties of Oil

A "My life as a teenage robot" Fanfic

Chapter 6:

Wherein the knot begins to tighten

Celestial bodies hung gracefully in the vastness of space. Massive globes of dirt and rock drifted along slow elliptical orbits around a fiery red sun in a graceful, rehearsed ballet. Clumps of ice and rock raced on trails around the sun and as the heat of that burning red giant warmed them trails of brilliantly colored gas escaped, transforming them into brilliant comets. One comet flew around a gas giant, captured by its vast gravity. The comet circled around the lordly ball of vapor in a tightening path, like a ball bearing circling a drain.

Inexorably, the comet was pulled toward the planet. Not large enough to establish an orbit as a moon, it was fated to collide with the surface, and leave a ugly scar upon the planet. Shorter and shorter the orbit of the comet became until finally its final pass was about to be made. With the force of a thousand megatons, the comet shrieked through the space around the giant, preparing to enter the upper atmosphere of the waxing giant. In an explosion of fire and heat, the comet scarred the planet with a deep, ugly layer of soot. Streaks of burning gas covered the scar, before they quickly snuffed out.

Tatican stood on his observation deck, watching the scene with his expressionless face. _In all my life _He thought _I have only seen cometfall once. _He placed his hand on the view screen. _Like love _He mused _Drawn together inevitably, with such passion and ardor that leads to his demise. And the planet, she is scarred, but she continues. _He sighed _Such poetry in destruction, such elegance in its brutality. _His hands fell heavy to his side.

A faint green light on the monitor besides him blinked with a faint lime strobe. Taticans body did not move as his eyes glanced at the blinking light. _So, _He thought _The frigate is in place. _He looked out into the void. Finally, the fleet was in striking range of earth. His hands balled into fists. _And now, I will have what I sought _he thought.

"Begin the invasion" He said to no one in particular, his voice like steel.

* * *

Sheldon hurried through the hall of the school frantically. His black and white sneakers made sharp flapping noises as he did. As he would turn corners, sharp squeaks would sound. He slid past a corner, narrowly avoiding startled students, and collided with Jenny Wakeman in a sharp clang of metal and flesh. Startled, Sheldon fell flat on his hindquarters. Jenny however remained as sturdy as a building support, only gently vibrating from the Impact. She looked down at Sheldon's undignified position with a frustrated eye. Her face softened when she saw the massive, shiny bruise on his eye which was swelling painfully.

"Oh Sheldon! Are you OK?" She said, extending her hand out to help him up "Did I give you that bruise? Oh, I'm sorry"

"No, No it's fine. I... I fell down some stairs." Sheldon said as he took Jenny's hand. Normally he'd be exited to even touch Jenny, let alone have her touch _him, _but there was something more important than that. "Jenny, Just the person, girl, _robot_ I wanted to see." He looked around nervously. "Uh, can I talk to you, eh, somewhere else?"

Jenny's eyes hardened "Sheldon, Whatever you have to say you can say it here. I'm not going to go somewhere 'private' with you." She looked off into the distance "We all know how that turned out last time…"

Sheldon blushed in painful embarrassment " Right, right… Well, I guess I can say it here" He looked around "Well, see, I was trying to talk to Mr. McKinley yesterday-"

"Ugg. Are you and Brad still talking about that guy? Honestly, I don't see what's so exiting about him"

"No!" Sheldon said in a Sharp whisper "Well, I mean, That's not what this is about. See, I sort of, saw him in his apartment, and-"

"Yes, And?" An elderly male voice said from behind Sheldon. Sheldon Spun around frantically to come face to face with a smoldering James McKinley. He had a smile on his face like a wolf, hungry and menacing. The cut on the side of his face was scabbing something awful "How did that _end _for you?" He stressed the word end with a sort of malevolent joy. Vaguely, Sheldon remembered McKinley's threat to "end" him if he told Jenny about McKinley's secret.

"It uh. It. It." Sheldon stammered "He. You. McKinley has a great selection of shirts. Just thought you might want to know"

Jenny gave them a bemused look, wondering why McKinley was out and about in the halls. 'Whatever" She said dismissively, and walked off to her next class.

McKinley held his smile as she left, and then turned back to Sheldon. He winked and then continued on his way to his classroom.

It was perhaps the most menacing wink Sheldon had ever seen in his life.

* * *

Ufral walked down the crowded Cluster prime streets casually. He was a medium height robot, styled with a relatively anachronistic look, and painted a deep blue and red. In his metal hands he clutched a briefcase. It was not unusual to be carrying one in the crowded streets, even though Ufral did not actually seem to be a business bot'.

He pushed his way through the press of robots. They were from every walk of life. Some were factory workers, some were children, and others still were high profile business robots. Each walked past one another absorbed in their own thoughts. They were complacent, ignorant drones. They were all unaware of the tumultuous changes about to take place. Changes Ufral would be directly responsible for.

Ufral turned the corner of the street until he reached a run down apartment building. It was tall, maybe ten or twenty stories high. It was painted green, and though the paint was fading grey, Ufral could tell that sometime long ago it must have been truly sight to see. He cracked his neck with a jerk, and then he gently pushed open the steel doors.

The inside was in just as bad of a shape as the outside. Peeling wallpaper and yellowing floors were the rule of the place. A few dour patrons loitered about in the foyer, reading Comcast waves with their morning oil and mineral supplements. At the counter, a burly robot amused himself by twiddling his fingers.

Ufral walked up to the counter nonchalantly and coughed to get the attention of the proprietor. "Excuse me. I have a reservation for room 334b. under Chu-16."

The Burly robot looked at him with a sort of annoyance and let his eyes studied Ufral. They slowly took appraisal of Ufral, eventually stopping on the briefcase he held. His eyes turned back to Ufral as he slid a keycard across the table. "Fine. Rooms yours" Ufral took the key, and turned toward the elevator.

He stepped inside the outdated and obsolete steel shell, and pressed the button for room 334b. With a jarring thud, like metal against metal, he felt the elevator come to life. Elevators on Cluster prime were a bit different than here earthly counterparts. Instead of just taking you to a certain floor, they took you directly to your room. This was a convenience for Ufral, he would not need to encounter anyone else on his way to the room.

The Elevator stopped with a grinding of gears. A panel of the wall unfolded, displaying a keycard slider. Ufral nonchalantly slid his card through, and the door opened. The room was dirty and empty, save for a couch and a flickering consol. Ufral looked around the room, until his eyes fell on a missing panel. He moved over to check it, getting on his belly in the process. The missing panel opened up into the empty sky, where the wind gently howled and sky cars and mag-rails went about their daily business. It also was a portal to a beautiful view of the Cluster prime palace. Ufral smiled.

He laid his suitcase on the floor besides him. With a few expert taps, he punched in the combination to his case and was rewarded with the click of his suitcase unlocking. He pushed open the top of the case, and began checking over the machinery inside. With a experts eye he checked for damage or wear. Satisfied by its condition, he began to take the parts out, and assembled them. With workman like care, he gently attached each piece together, so that they interlocked perfectly. He hefted the finished product, admiring how the light fell on it.

The precision rifle in his hand glinted in the artificial lighting.

Ufral sank to his belly with the rifle, extended the tripod, and began to sight the scope. The rifle he held was a mass of oiled perfection. It was a 103 Crema "Widowmaker" rifle, the best money could buy. Dangerously illegal, this military grade rail gun could shoot a sharpened rod over three miles with enough force to go through solid steel. It was a masterwork of death. To Ufral however, it was an old friend.

As he lay on the ground, his rifle zeroing on the cluster prime palace, he pondered the weighted feeling of the rifle, its oiled warmth. Gently, he thumbed the safety off. His eye caressed the scope. He saw from his vantage point the shrouded body of the queen. With great care, he slid open the barrel, and placed a 6 inch rod of steel inside. Slowly he closed it and secured the breach. He lay completely rigid in his vantage point

"Sing for me" he whispered, and squeezed the trigger. The rifle sang with the deafening crack of a bullet speeding through the air.

The bullet flashed through the head of the queen of cluster prime with a shower of… nothing.

Ufral watched in stunned amazement as the image of the Cluster queen wavered and flickered in the sunlight. A hologram! Ufral looked around frantically. It was a trap; he had to get out of here. He rose quickly to his feet as he looked for an escape. His grip tightened on his rifle. If only he could-

The door to the apartment slammed open from the pressure of an enormous boot, swinging wide in a fraction of a second. Grey and black canisters rolled through the opening in rapid succession. Swearing, Ufral attempted to shield his eyes as the canisters exploded with a disorienting blast of light. Every spectrum bombarded Ufral in a white flare that fried Ufrals optic sensors for a few precious moments. Blind, He stumbled disoriented as he groped for a point of reference. He could hear heavy booted feet rush through the door and he staggered around. With a jarring blow, he felt the impact of the side of an assault rifle hitting his face, sending him reeling. He felt his arm twisted behind him as he was slammed bodily into a wall.

Ufral coughed oil as his optics came back online. Hazy images of Black SWAT officers marched through the apartment, checking every room with mechanical precision and weapons raised. He could hear gruff barks of "Clear!" from the officers as they swept the room. Frantically, Ufral searched deep inside himself. Somewhere, buried in a long forgotten subroutine was the activation of his self destruct. He concentrated as hard as he could.

As if on some sort of insidious cue, an officer flipped a thin rod into his hand. It crackled for a few seconds with blue arcs, and then was pressed into the base of Ufral's mechanical spine. Ufral opened his mouth to scream but nothing besides a gurgle came out as his extremities began to shut down. He crumpled like a sack of hammers. Nothing below his neck was functioning, and all of his weapons systems had been fried. He lay face up on the floor, staring into the impassive masks of the Cluster SWAT.

One of the officers looked up "Subject subdued. Clear?" He was answered by a chorus of calls, each yelling "Clear!" A subordinate officer approached the first officer "Sir! Room secured, Should I radio the commissioner?" The first gave a curt nod, and the other began speaking into his headset.

The First officer, a hulking brute of a robot, kneeled down to Ufral. Behind the expressionless visor a growling voice escaped "You speak?" the officer asked.

Ufral gritted his teeth "Yes I can speak you imperialist bastard" His face was a mask of rage

The visored face didn't change. "Just wanted you to know," He leaned in close "That were going to trace your entire network now. And it's going to be all, your, fault"

Ufral looked back at the officer for a few strained seconds, and then began to laugh. It was only a chuckle at first, but soon changing into an insane cackle.

"Why the hell are you laughing?" The officer grasped Ufral by the neck, hoisting him close to the officer's face "You've lost."

Ufral smiled, like a fox with a chicken in its mouth. "Have I?" he coughed up a little oil on his lip "I think I just made one hell of a distraction" He burst out laughing once more, his body shaking in the vibrations.

The last conscious image Ufral saw was the boot coming down on his face.

* * *

Sheldon had been trying to get Jenny alone all day without success. No matter where he went, there was McKinley watching over them like a hawk. A creepy, fifty year old hawk, but a hawk none the less. Sheldon was at his wits end. He couldn't keep this secret, he needed to tell Jenny. But the more he tried the harder it seemed to get her alone. Not that it was easy before he had a psychopathic science teacher following him in his free periods, but now it was nearly impossible.

He had hoped to catch her after school, but he had gotten locked in a supply closet. Originally he had hoped to use the closet as a place to hide from McKinley until he could find Jenny, but it had turned out McKinley had found him first. Sheldon had been banging on the door for at least ten minutes before the Janitor had let him out.

He still had time to catch her though. Her Mom was getting home today, so she was sure to drag her feet. Sheldon entered into a full sprint as he dashed down the hot pavement, gasping for breath. _This is sort of familiar _he thought as he ran.

In three minutes he was gasping and coughing down the street. As it turns out, panic and a sense of duty do not make a suitable replacement for exercise. He was only a few blocks away from Jenny's house; he needed to push through it. Straining his legs, he powered down the street.

Soon, he caught up with Jenny, who was only a few houses from home. He slowed in stilted stops and jerks, barely gasping out "Jenny!" before he was forced to pant violently. He stopped in front of her, doubled over from exertion. "Jenny… I… need to… Talk… with… you…." He managed to gasp out between breaths.

Jenny crossed her arms "What is it now Sheldon?" she was not amused by Sheldon today. He had been following her around all morning, and was acting really nervous. It put her on edge when Sheldon was this nervous; it usually meant something bad for her. Like a new present or surprise. She liked the presents usually, but his delivery was just _painful _to watch sometimes.

At last, Sheldon caught his breath "Jenny, listen. I need to talk to you about McKinley."

She made a face "And his shirt selection?"

"Yes. I mean no. Sort of. Jenny listen-"

"Whatever it is you can say it while walking" Jenny said as she began walking back to her house "I should probably say hi to Mom as soon as I can anyway."

"Right, right, sure. Jenny, something's weird with McKinley. See, I was-"

"Weird? You mean like he's a Jackass? I swear, he's always yelling something at someone all the time. Its like he _practices _berating people." She looked over at Sheldon "That's it right? You saw him practicing" She was smiling

Sheldon felt a warm feeling pass through him somewhere around the region of his stomach, and began to smile as well. He caught himself. He could admire her smile later damn it. "Jenny, no. I really need to say this. See, Well, I sort of was looking through McKinley's window last night, and-"

"Again with the window. Why were you looking through his window?"

"Jenny, focus! See I was-

"Sheldon, what were you doing at his window? That's really creepy"

"It's not important right now."

"It sort of is Sheldon"

'Fine. See, Brad and I were talking, and we got on the subject of that whole virus thing you got a while back. And, and I sort of figured that McKinley couldn't actually have cured you."

"But he did, Sheldon"

"Yeah, but the only way he could do that was if he had known what virus you had. And since he didn't run a diagnostic, he couldn't have found out. So he would have had to known what virus it was beforehand"

"What? Are you saying my _Science _teacher is trying to kill me? That doesn't make any sense Sheldon. He tried to cure me. If he was trying to give me a virus earlier why didn't he just let me deactivate." She gave Sheldon a harsh look

"That's what I was so curious about." He said with emphasis "See, I could figure out why he'd do that, _or _how he could know how to fix you, so I thought that maybe I should take a look." He grinned sheepishly "I guess all that spy training stick with you"

Jenny's lips tightened remembering Sheldon's brief tenure as a government agent. She couldn't remember being more furious with him. "Yeah, guess it does." She made a dismissive gesture "And why am I supposed to care?"

Sheldon was beginning to go slightly mad. He was trying to tell her something important, and she wouldn't listen. _This is what you get for being a dork Sheldon _He admonished himself. "Jenny, come on. I'm trying to tell you something important! Can't you just listen?"

"Whatever it is, tell me inside"

Sheldon looked up. They were outside the Wakeman house. He had been so focused on Jenny that he hadn't looked where he was going. As Jenny began to open the door, He blurted out "Jenny, McKinley is-" he stopped.

Inside the house, Mrs. Wakeman sat on a couch. In her elderly hand she held a tiny cup of tea. Steam wafted up gently from the cup as Wakeman looked up at the two teenagers at the door. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, as far as possible from the others in the room. A coat rack stood behind her with a tattered trench coat hanging up that was far too large for Wakemans' four foot nine frame. She sat across from the front door, and across from Wakeman sat a scarf and turtleneck wearing James McKinley.

Surprised, Sheldon finished his sentence in a staggered cadence "Right. Inside. Your. House"

* * *

Vega walked down the near empty halls of the Cluster Prime palace. The architecture was expansive in its green a yellow décor. The ceiling was at what could be estimated to be a massive fifty feet in the air. The light of the evening sun filtered in from the crystal skylight. She could see figures move in adjacent hallways.

She had been rushed out of her waiting room only a few minutes ago, when the first bullet had raced through he decoy. J-40 walked beside her, his hands tapping nervously on his carapace. A delegation of grim faced royal guards followed them. Before today, she had never understood why she needed an escort in her own palace. Now, as she was moved quickly and efficiently to a safe room, she couldn't help but feel safer. Though a field blanketed the palace that allowed no energy weapon to function, the possibility of an attack could never be doubted. Simple weapons could never be deactivated, only avoided.

She glanced around. Everyone was on edge, especially J-40. He was jittering and twitching as his four legs passed along the tiled floor. Vega noticed him chewing his bottom lip. _He's more nervous than me _Vega thought _And no ones trying to kill him. _Admittedly she was frightened too, but she had distanced herself from it. It was a talent she had learned when she was young. But J-40 was not handling the stress well. He muttered to himself as he walked, rehearsing passcodes and emergency procedures. His hands jittered against his metallic thorax as he glanced nervously at his surroundings. Vega frowned, leaned over, and punched J-40 lightly in the arm.

J-40 nearly jumped out of his armor. He looked over at Vega in shock. She looked crossly at him "Quit it, your freaking me out"

J-40 smiled self consciously "Sorry, sorry. I'm not used to this. Not at all." He looked around, "I'm just nervous, that's all. It's not everyday you try and thwart assassination attempt"

"It's not every day you're the target of an assassination attempt. Shouldn't I be the one freaking out?"

"Yeah, I guess. And I'm older than you too. I think something got switched around somewhere along the line"

"Oh good, perhaps the target of the assassination switched as well."

J-40 smiled nervously "I want to say that I wish that _wasn't _the case, but I think that's treason" he laughed nervously. J-40 was visibly calming down now. He still glanced around, nut he had stopped visibly shaking. The staccato of his tapping hands had died to a nearly nonexistent drone.

Vega sighed in relief, the more calm everyone else was, the more calm she could be. She turned another corner in the palace along with her procession. Maids, butlers, and minor officials gave them wide birth as they passed, at the silent urging of he personal guard. They had continued down the hallways of the palace for several minutes when Vega heard J-40 muttering to himself again. "Are you OK?" she said with concern.

"Something's wrong." He said, paranoia thick in his voice "We've had to make three detours, resulting in a total of a twelve second delay. We've also had to make a 13 degree change in course resulting in a 100 foot deviation from our intended course. _And I've seen that maid three times." _He gritted his teeth as he glared at a passing maid, who gave a frightened glance back.

"Jordy, you're being paranoid" Vega said

"Am I?" J-40 shot back "I think we all should be a little paranoid right now"

Vega narrowed her eyes "Calm down. No one knows where we are"

"I'm not so certain. This can't be just a coincidence" he said in a growl

The procession stopped at a wall. Vega frowned "Why are we stopping? Are we at the safe room?"

One of the royal guards stepped forward "This is not in the blueprints your majesty; it must have been a recent addition." He bowed "I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience"

J-40's eye began to twitch "This isn't right, this isn't right at all" He glared around the hallway, now almost entirely empty. Against her better judgment, she was beginning to believe him. She looked around the hallway, which was much more sparsely populated than before. Nothing seemed amiss to her. "Come on, we should get going" she said. At her order, the procession began walking back through the hall. The light crowd of bots' was slow to move this time, and the guard began pushing civilians out of the way.

J-40 was not happy. He ran the data over and over through his mind and it didn't add up. Why would there be so many problems with the path to the safe house? Why would there be a wall here? Why was this hallway so empty all of a sudden? And the robots here,why were they acting so sluggish? Some of them we even moving slowly enough that the royal guard would accidentally rub against them. He glanced around frantically as they moved. Things just weren't adding up.

A faint sound registered on his audio receptors. Normally it would be edited away as background noise, but in his heightened state of paranoia it was registered as a threat equal to the cocking of a gun. He spun his head behind him.

One of the doors of the hall way had opened. From it, precisely five robots emerged. Two of which were dressed as Janitors, and three of which were dressed as maids. Each carried a towel over their left arms. J-40 scrutinized them, looking over each of their faces. He stopped mid search. One of the maids was familiar. _She's the one from before _He thought. A pit rose in his stomach. _This can't be right. Maybe Vega's right. Maybe I am overreacting. _He tried to calm himself down as they moved closer to the procession. Even as he tried to calm himself he could feel his artificial muscles tighten. One of the Royal guard noticed them in his peripheral vision and turned to face the smaller procession. He raised a hand up as the moved closer. "I am sorry Miss, But I must request that you stay at least-"

J-40 saw what happened next in what seemed to be slow motion. Without breaking stride, one of the maids casually removed the towel from her arm, revealing a wickedly serrated dagger which hummed menacingly, and with a smooth, rehearsed motion, plunged it into the forehead of the Royal guard. As he fell, sparks dancing from his forehead, the rest of the "Help" threw off the concealing towels and advanced with knives drawn. Behind him, J-40 could hear the sound of knives clearing sheaths, and the sound of shearing metal and the cries of the Royal guard. He could hear the sound of the three remaining guard spring into action, one throwing itself in front of him in attempt to shield his queen from her attackers and neatly skewering a attacker. He heard Vega gasp in shock, even as she activated her sword arm, which exited her forearm with a distinctive ring.

"Protect the Queen!" On of the royal guard called as he bashed an assailants' head open with a backhanded blow. The two other guards collapsed around Vega and J-40 in a triangle formation, centered on the yelling guard. Crouching their seven foot forms to a combat ready six feet. They fought like men possessed, stabbing and spearing their crazed attackers. One assailant, dressed as an electrician, threw himself upon one of the guard. Without moving any other part of his body, a royal guard snatched him from the air in one massive hand and crushed his central nervous system. Without pausing, he flung the body back at the press of attackers, unbalancing two as he did. His spear flashed out in their weakness, killing one and crippling another.

The attackers circled the defensive position warily. They had lost too many, too quickly to fight otherwise. Their knives hung tight in their hands. J-40 could barely see anyone outside of his safe position with Vega. Nearby him, she held her gold colored sword at ready. J-40 had never explored is new weapons systems, and now he was beginning to regret it. How could he fight when he didn't even know what he could do?

Abruptly, the attackers charged. As if on some insidious cue they pressed forward as one unbearable mass. The Royal guard attempted to stop them, skewering three in an instant, but the press moved forward in a dark tide. The guards were forced to club and bash at their assailants even as their armor opened up with wounds from the attackers knives. The defensive formation began to crumble. J-40 felt his breath catch in his chest.

He didn't have time to think, only to act. Spinning as fast as he possibly could move, J-40 darted toward Vega. Seizing her around the middle in his arms he yelled over the carnage "Get on!" and he hoisted her onto his back as if he was a horse, lowered his head, and charged.

He was aware of many things at once as he barreled past the assailants. He was aware of their weight as he pushed past them in his dash for freedom. He was aware of the knife wounds that opened his arms and side. He was aware of the material of the floor, the brightness of the room, and the humidity of the air. He was aware of the hisses of surprise from the attackers as he raced by them. He was aware of the Guard still fighting. He was aware of the cries of the wounded, friend and foe alike. But mostly he was aware of her, clinging to his neck, and how her form was weighted upon his body. He ran.

J-40 broke through the press of assailants with his queen upon his back. He ran with all his might, every piston pumping and every synthetic muscles straining. He had never been more afraid in his life, and the weird thing was, he wasn't afraid for himself.

He ran down the hallway, his voice bellowing "Assassins! Assassins in the Palace!"

* * *

"So, uh, you two know each other?"

Jenny sat uncomfortably in a chair with her mother and her teacher across from her. She squirmed in her seat. Sheldon sat only a few feet away in another chair. He had tried to leave earlier, but McKinley had been oddly insistent. Jenny noticed that there was some sort of weird vibe between her mother and McKinley. That vibe, however, was some sort icy hatred.

Mrs. Wakeman took a sip of her tea "We knew each a long time ago"

McKinley looked over at Nora "thirty years in fact"

"Yeah, well that's fascinating" Jenny said "But, um… Why are you here" She looked at McKinley

McKinley rocked back on the couch he sat upon "Yeah… Now normally you have to understand Jenny that I would prefer to have been born a quadriplegic rather than suffer your mothers company for more than a few seconds. Now don't get me wrong, I bet your mother has become a wonderful person in the last thirty years, I bet she has a fantastic time teaching harpies the proper screeching techniques, and that the community must be so very thankful that see's stopped circling the town abducting virgins to eat. But this is one of those rare occasion I can stomach my loathing of her, and actually, _request _her presence. You see Jenny, I have to be here to talk to you"

Nora sneered "Yes, normally I wouldn't allow James to come within a mile of my house without a preacher and the blessings of every known god placed upon the house. But in this… I agree with him."

Jenny looked confused "Agree on what?"

McKinley smirked "Well Think-Sack knows. He's been trying to tell you for a while in fact. I thought that by locking him in the supply closet this could be a private talk. But now, I think that this might be better if he's here. I always did like making people uncomfortable. I never had any talent at making them miserable though that was Nora's specialty"

Mrs. Wakeman took another sip of tea "Hmmm… Yes. Of course. You did spend all your time drinking didn't you? It's hard to devote yourself to something when your pallin around with Mr. Jack Daniels. Isn't it that right James?

"Oh, you're in rare form today Nora. Have you started sleeping on the ceiling like I recommended all those years ago? I thought it would be best for you to get back in touch with your bat ancestors that way."

"That's enough." Jenny said, frustration creeping into her voice. She pointed at McKinley "You, Jerk. Stop belittling my Mom. And you," she pointed at her Mom "Stop encouraging him." She folded her arms "Now what is this about"

McKinley looked taken aback. He cleared his throat 'Well she certainly does take after you Nora." He muttered "Alright, it's a little complicated though." McKinley repositioned himself on the couch

"I met your mother a long time ago. I was only twenty years old then, fresh out of Yale.' He looked at jenny with a sidelong look "I skipped a few grades, as you might have guess" He cleared his throat "See, the Intergalactic war was ding down right around then, an I had developed the reputation as a, well, rambunctious scholar." McKinley said with a little laugh.

"He was a criminal." Nora interjected. "Even hacked into the draft and removed his name"

McKinley glared at Nora, and slowly turned back to Jenny "Well I admit that some of my actions were, less than legal. Everyone has their own in indiscretions you know. Anyway, at the end of the war, the United earth Nations began cracking down on domestic crime." He raised his arms in a shrug "And in the press, they cracked down on a few petty criminals like me-"

"He stole 6.5 million dollars from a multinational corporation" Nora said with an impassionate voice

"They deserved it." McKinley said, pointing a gloved finger sternly at Nora. He turned back to Jenny "Anyway, it would so happen that I was at the time the leading authority on artificial intelligence. It was my field of study you know. A prodigy, as they called it"

"To this day I still don't know how he pulled it off"

"Christ woman! Let me tell the story."

"Hey! don't talk to my Mom that way" Jenny snapped

McKinley looked plaintively at Jenny "but she won't let me tell the story"

"I wouldn't have to interrupt if you would be truthful for once in your life. This is why we never found you af- "

"Shut up!" Jenny shouted "You're like two freaking children!" She looked at McKinley "Are you going to tell me something or not?" She glowered at him. Sheldon edged ever so slightly farther away from them all.

McKinley tugged on his gloves, shot a venomous glare at Wakeman, and continued "On my incarceration, I was approached by a few government agents. The same ones that busted me actually, and they gave me a deal. Either I'd rot for fifty years in some god forsaken jail cell, or I could work on a project for global safety. As it turns out, the project was working with Nora.

"She wanted me to work on the AI systems for the XJ systems of robots. It was reasonable request, and judging by the logic errors in Armegedroid, it was safe to assume that it would be a better idea than letting her work on it herself. I got a get out of jail free card and she got the best mind in the world working on her artificial intelligences.

"You worked with my Mom? On my sisters?" Jenny asked, curious

McKinley smiled "Sure did. Fine robots, the lot of them" In her corner, Nora rolled her eyes

McKinley continued his story "So we started our partnership. We hated each other with a greater passion than ever before, but we were good. Real good. Nora could make anything, anything at all, and I could program living and feeling minds. We worked together for about six years. I made the brains, she made the bodies. It was a good gig.

"It's not to say that many of them worked. We went through at least five prototypes. In the first year or so I experimented with different programming styles and languages, but every brain had an incurable neurosis. XJ1 was a thruway project, just to see if we could actually make a working robot. We never really expected it to achieve the limited sentience it did. And XJ2, well, I still have the scar.

XJ3 was a better one, as far as intelligence goes, but we couldn't really get her to hold together for long. That one's Noras fault" He jerked his thumb in her direction. Mrs. Wakeman made a huffing noise in disdain. McKinley went back to talking. "XJ4 was our first real success, but I could never actually program that neat streak out of her. Now XJ5, well, I really don't know what we were thinking about when we made her. She worked, but She could never shut up." He leaned forward "Also, I found out that when I did program the talking out of her, she developed an aberrant fascination with fire" He made a face "That didn't end well. So we put her back to Normal and started XJ6. She was a really good one. She was humanoid, strong, smart, and unfortunately a bitch. We shut her down after we caught her screaming insults out at passerbies on the street.

"This really wasn't panning out for us. So I tried another, and slightly crazy, programming style. Nora Agreed to let me try for a modified Engram. An engram is a copy of a person's neural pattern in computer code. Normally, every applicant goes insane, but I had a different idea. I made a combination of Nora's and my self's neural patterns, and began tinkering. The first two prototypes were disasters, XJ7 got stuck in a depressive loop no matter what we tried, And XJ8… She just never got stuck in _any _emotions. I was tired of failure, so I went for broke on the next one.

"I took our engram patterns, and then I coded everything ground up. But more importantly I stopped trying to make a robot, and started trying to make a human. I kept that bit secret from Nora. I thought that she would take offense to it." He looked over at Nora, "I wish I was there when she found out. Oh the look on her face would have been priceless" Nora made a faint growl. McKinley began talking again "She had made a comment about it being a teenage robot, offhandedly of course, and I thought 'Hey, why not?' I essentially made that positronic brain mimic a real one. It even had glands and hormones.I was just like the real thing, except it was a million times faster, and could survive being dropped on the floor." He sighed "That brain was the most sophisticated thing I had ever worked on.

"I finished that brain thirty years ago. It was going to be my masterpiece. I had meant to work with Nora and program its new body to respond to it correctly, it was so different from what we were working on before I doubted Nora could _ever _get it to link with a body without my help, but I was forced to leave before we could work on it…" McKinleys face grew dark. He stopped talking.

Nora put down her tea"It took me twenty three years of reverse engineering to finally make the body work with the ninth brain he created" She said quietly "And I'm still finding easter eggs he buried in the system…"

Jenny stood completely still "The ninth?... That means…"

McKninley stood up from his seat, water welling up in his eyes. He walked over to Jenny "All these years." McKinley said through a sob "All these years, How I have longed to see you" He placed his arms around Jenny in a warm embrace as hot tears trickled down his cheek.

"Jenny… My daughter"

* * *

Oh Snap!

Hey, it's me again. I've been working on my action sequences, can you tell? Sorry for being a little late on the update, but I had a few Anthropology papers and a test to turn in last week, so I'm surprised I even finished it on Monday (Technically Tuesday.) Ah well, C'est La vi.

Suddenly, I am reminded about how I loathe the French language. Damn you English and your constant borrowing of words and phrases outside of your cultural background. Do you think yourself a God!?!

Anyway, back the Fic. This is going to be the last big super secret I'm keeping, I promise, no more. Anyway, I think I'm going to wrap this up in about two or three more chapters. After which, I'm going to hopefully start up another fic (Verry hush-hush you know) As far as today's story, I like it. Of course I say that now, but In a day I'll be wigging out about it. Also, I'm sorry for the last chapter.

Anyway, review me. With every review my ever present hunger is abated, and I refrain from devouring this pathetic ball of dirt you call a planet. For I am Galacticus, Devourer of Worlds! Only your reviews can stop the ever present hunger. Galacticus craves feedback!

See you next week true believers! (Stan Lee's going to knee-cap me for that one)


	7. Chapter 7

Ties of Blood, Ties of Oil

A "My life as a teenage robot" Fanfic

Chapter 7:

In which all comes together with a startling speed

Beneath the streets of Tremorton, a search was in progress. Fifteen miles away from the smoking crater that was their landing site, twenty five Cluster robots padded in perfect silence through the sewers beneath the city. They were taller and better constructed than the normal Cluster drone, and moved with an eerie silence. They held plasma rifles in their mechanical arms, and were painted the deepest red. The dim light glinted off their red optics as they moved in silent lockstep down the tunnels.

They were single minded in their movement, confident in their ability. They were the Cluster elite. They were the perfect soldiers. They were Sanguine.

Chosen for their ruthlessness, their accuracy, and their ability to move in absolute silence, the Sanguine were the elite special forces of the Cluster. Their armor was capable of resisting over a thousand degrees Celsius, and could deflect nearly all conventional weaponry. They were pitiless weapons, and able trackers.

The Point man of the squad made a silent gesture with his hand, causing the rest to stop dead. Ahead, a tiny beam of emanated from a decrepit, ruined iron door. Slowly, the squad approached the door. With mechanical precision, they entered the room, quickly fanning out into an offensive formation.

The room they found was ravaged by the rigors of nature. Great fissures lay open across the floor, and piles of rock were scattered over broken machinery. Crushed underneath a boulder a panel could be seen that read "Laboratory of Dr. Locus". The Sanguine pressed further into the room toward the source of the light. Slowly, they traversed the room.

The light they had seen came from a tiny light bulb that hung from the ceiling. Its light fell over clean, half finished machinery. The dirt had been cleaned away from the machines, and tools could be clearly seen. And in the corner, a crumpled form of a robot lay huddled in a darkened corner, deactivated from loss of power. The Sanguine leader smiled "Contact the frigate for extraction, and have a generator ready for recharge" He said to a subordinate.

In that darkened corner lay Vexus, Former queen of the Cluster.

* * *

"I'm, I'm not exactly sure how to say this…" Jenny said, her voice stammering "You're my, you're, my dad?" Her face was contorted in a strange combination of doubt, hope, and oddly enough, fear. This was new and strange, and Jenny wasn't too happy with the sudden change. She had been comfortable with the idea that she would be raised by her Mother. This, _stranger, _thought he could just waltz back into her life and expect love? Jenny wasn't ready for this. McKinley nodded and let his hands rest heavily on his legs. _He and I have nothing in common _She thought.

Her eyes traveled down to McKinley's hand where he sat across from her. She saw the delicate mechanisms' in his right arm whirr and click as he clenched and unclenched his hand. He had told her about his condition just a few moments prior. She watched as gears and synthetic tendons pulled and released against his armored hand. _Maybe he is like me _She thought _He knows what it's like to be metal. _She looked back at McKinley "So… If you are my… my father, where were you when I was activated?"

McKinley sighed, his eyes traveling downward "It wasn't my intention to leave." He looked over shiftily "It happened back thirty years ago. I was taking a trip to visit a friend on Ios. This was before the mining accident you might have guessed. You can't visit a pile of rubble after all. Well you can, but it's not fun. Unless you're a geologist, then it's lots of fun. Or an Anthropologist."

Mrs. Wakeman glared at McKinley "Don't stall James" McKinley shot a venomous glance back at her.

"Anyway, it was on the trip there that things went south. It was a small transport, nothing particularly fancy. I didn't think we'd really have any problems. After all, I had siphoned enough cash to get first class." He smiled "Back then the only way to be sure your ship wouldn't suffer a catastrophic decompression was to fly first class. That was always exiting, choosing a ship, in a life threatening way of course. I still can't believe that flying coach can get you anywhere…

* * *

"What the fuck do you mean were lost!" A young James McKinley screamed at the frightened starship captain.

The Captain flinched, but stood his ground "Sir" he said, with exaggerated calm "The hyperspace jump experienced a problem, we will be activating the distress beacon shortly. Everything will be fine." He said this in a loud voice, allowing it to carry through the cabin full of frightened patrons.

"Get out of my way" McKinley Snarled as he pushed the captain bodily to the side. He fell heavily into a nearby seat as James strode quickly down the isle. He flung open the cabin door. A startled co-pilot looked up from his console into McKinley enraged face. James merely hooked his thumb, and the Co-pilot scrambled out of the cockpit.

McKinley sat himself down in the pilots seat and looked over the consol's with a critical, rage fueled, eye. _Idiots _He thought _Messed up the destination solution. We're… Fourteen-thousand light years of course? _He scratched his head _OK, I can do this, it's just math… Quantum physics math, but math none the less. _A blinking light caught his eye _What? We're being hailed? _With trepidation, he reached his hand out to grab the headphones the co-pilot left behind. He listened closely.

On the other side of the headphones, an undecipherable sound came through. It was unbelievably fast, and was composed of two notes. Without straining, McKinley could barely even tell that they were two separate notes, instead of one whole. "Hello?" McKinley queried. The Rapid stream of noise stopped. Slowly, a voice came through the headphone. It was cold, like a frozen machine.

"Language assimilation complete. We are the Cluster. Surrender and prepare to be boarded"

* * *

"Hey, James, wake up" A terse whisper came to McKinley's ear. He looked up from his filthy slave's cot. With dismay he realized he was still in this disgusting mine. He looked over to the source of the voice. Robert, the only remaining human McKinley knew in this hellhole, was perched over his bed.

"Wha is it?" McKinley said groggily. He rubbed sleep from his eyes angrily. He had been in Cluster slavery for a year now, and he wasn't about to give up sleep for any thing. Things like that could get you killed down here.

Rob looked around "Right, I heard over in section D that some of the clinks were taking slaves away in the middle of the night, and I sort of got a little curious." He looked frightened 'They say they do horrible things to whoever they take. And… And I heard that, they were going to be taking whoever was in bed 2874 in the morning" He looked around "James, I'm Bed 2874"

"Shit man, Sorry." McKinley said with genuine feeling "What can I do though? We could, like move you or something."

"Or exchange me.." Robert looked nervous. He began chewing his lower lip. "I'm so sorry…"" he whispered. McKinley tried to ask why, confused.

Then he saw the rock.

* * *

McKinley was strapped to an operating table. Paralyzed, but conscious, he listened to the sounds around him. He could hear machinery through the room, and the sound of robot voices. Unable to turn his head, he could not get an image of the speakers. He had learned enough Cluster to understand what his captors were saying though.

"Subject Apotheosis 342 ready for operation. Take note that this will be the first successful operation if the new procedure is accurate"

"Yes, it should be fine, I give a forty percent chance of survival with the new technique"

"Good. We are beginning with a simple extremities replacement first, right grasping appendage. If you will make the first incision Dr.? There was a sound of metallic feet shuffling across the floor.

_What? Am I numb? _McKinley thought _I don't feel numb. _Realization set in_ Oh god no, please… _McKinley felt as a blade pressed into right wrist. To his shock and horror he felt the pain of his muscles separating as clear as day. No part of his body moved in his agony, completely paralyzed.

Silently, He screamed.

* * *

" …The revolution happened soon after that, and before I know it I'm shipped back to earth with not so much as an apology." McKinley said, weary from his retelling "I end up back on earth Thirty years later and 54 years old. You can imagine I had some catching up to do, so I thought that maybe it might be good to go back to my old home, Tremorton. And well" he spread his arms wide "Here we are"

Nora set down her cup of tea. Jenny shifted awkwardly "So… Sheldon said something about a virus…"

McKinley grunted "I knew he would. Wouldn't you Think-Sack?" He cast a glance over at Sheldon "Yeah… That was me. Now you have to understand that I didn't know it was you, and really, it wasn't entirely me." He stammered as he saw Jenny's confused, but furious, face "Well, you see, I can't exactly set up a VR helmet in my condition, but what I can do is whip up an AI." He grinned sheepishly "I really didn't know you even existed until I saw you in class." He slapped his knee "Oh that was a hoot. I didn't even guess that you'd be in school. Can you believe I thought you were some tech hippie's child? I mean really, I didn't think that they would call you by your serial number." His face smoothed into a more somber expression "I never meant it to happen that way though. If I hadn't met you, that virus could have killed you" He looked back up at Jenny "I can't tell you how sorry I am. I can't. If anything had happened to you…"

Jenny absorbed this impassively, not letting a single emotion show. "Now" she started "I want to know why you were trying to break into the UN. I've heard how, but not why."

She looked him up and down "Why? Money? Power?"

McKinley looked down at the floor. He spoke, his voice thick with rage "Revenge"

His lips were white as he drew them together "Imagine the shock I got when I finally get home from a robot imposed hell to hear that the earth has already been invaded, _multiple times." _He looked up questioningly "And, Imagine how I felt when I have heard that Vexus, the _queen _of my captors had been seen on earth, exiled even." He looked away "Knowledge like that might drive a man to do all manner of crazy things…" He straightened his shirt "I thought that I could find out where she was hiding on the planet by referencing data kept by the U.N" He gave a roguish smirk "You know, if you ever let that AI break in I might have actually known about you Jenny, as opposed to, you know, having Loki infect you with a kill program."

Mr. Wakeman looked over at Jenny "I know this is a lot to take in at once Jenny" She said with a gentle tone "But, he is your father and he really wants to know about you."

Jenny stood up "I, I need some time alone." Quickly, she traversed the room. With a few strides she quickly propelled herself up the stairs.

"Jenny!" Mrs. Wakeman called, but all that was said in response was a slamming door. The room was quiet as Nara sighed. Sheldon, who had not moved for the entire conversation, sunk farther into his chair, attempting to disappear in its folds.

McKinley looked over at Sheldon "Well, as long as we're alone" His eyes narrowed "What's this I hear about your obsession with my daughter"

Sheldon gulped.

* * *

Oil pumped through J-40 head as he worked frantically on forcing down a door. He slammed his body against the barrier again and again, denting it visibly. He spared a glace over at Vega, oil splattered and grim faced as she watched down the hallway from where they came. He could hear the sounds of Assassins down that hallway as he tried to wrench open the stubborn metal work.

It was a well laid trap; J-40 was forced to concede. They had been locked on this floor and isolated from both communications and reinforcements. The rush of assassins seemed endless. The only hope for survival lay beyond this door and the one-hundred yard dash for the elevator and freedom. However, the door to it had been solidly secured. J-40 suspected that it had been barricaded, judging from its reluctance to budge after the repeated pounding from his 800 pound body.

Both Vega and J-40 had been running for fifteen minutes so far, and had finally gained some breathing room. But that hard fought space was quickly closing as the assassins began to coordinate their actions. _Damn it, _J-40 thought as he bashed his shoulder against the door. _Why won't this open! _He rammed it again to no avail. His face screwed up into an expression of both self loathing and rage _If I only had found out my weapons system this would be different, I could fight! _His body trembled with rage as he crashed into the bulwark of steel. _Why can't I do this? _His body trembling with anger and fear _Why can't I do ANYTHING! _He slammed against the door again.

J-40 felt a click deep inside himself. I was somewhere inside his thorax, and in an instant the click turned into a series of whirrs and sliding noises. Fearing he had broken something vital in his struggle, J-40 looked back. He saw Vega staring in surprise. His eyes followed hers. His mouth fell open.

Sprouting from his thorax, a wickedly curved tail had emerged. Like a scorpion, in curled over his back in a ready position. It held a stinger, from which a deadly acid could be seen running through rivulets. Light glistened on it's blade, and slight distortions could be seen in the air as a gravitonic pulse played over the edge.

Vega looked at the blade, J-40, her own sword, and then back to J-40 "Why didn't you do that earlier?" Vega said in a strained, incredulous voice.

J-40 gave her a surprised look "I didn't know I could." His face took on a cocky appearance. He turned back toward the door "But let's see what it can do." Putting all his force behind it, J-40 sent his tail hurtling into the obstinate steel door. The door made a complaintive screeching noise as the bladed stinger lodged inside of it, which was quickly followed by the distinctive hiss of dissolving steel as the acid and gravatonics equaling 5 G-forces slammed into the steel. Curving the stinger and using it as a wedge, J-40 began to pry the door open. The door screeched as it separated from its joints, until with a loud clang it was torn bodily from its sockets.

J-40 stepped through the empty portal. He strode through triumphantly, drunk with his own power. He gave a small bow back at Vega "Your chariot awaits, milady"

Vega gave a wry smile as she stepped through the ruins of the door "Oh shut up" She tapped J-40's new tail with her sword "Pretty neat, does it help you run?"

"Lets find out"

* * *

Space, as any person could tell you, is massive.

Most people don't exactly understand "just how mind-bogglingly big" it actually is. The few who have realized this are physicists, space farers, astronomers, and readers of 20th century humor.

What most people _do _understand is that it is mostly nothing. Space is essentially an endless sea of nothing, every so often being disturbed by a lonely little molecule. Mostly, those little atoms and molecules are hydrogen, the most common element in the galaxy.

So it could not be seen as negligence when neither the Neptunian Space Concern nor the United Earth Nations noticed the anomalous burst of radiation and hydrogen on the far side of Jupiter. Nor could it be seen as disregard when their sensors failed to notice the tiny, shielded pod that ripped through the blackness of the void on a collision course with the earth.

It could however, be seen as a mistake.

* * *

Jenny sat in her room, her legs drawn up to her chest and her arms draped around them. She stared ahead of her, thinking. Information rushed along the neural pathways inside her head. _Pathways he_ _made_ Jenny thought. She couldn't stop thinking about what was happening. What did McKinley expect of her? Why should she give it? And most importantly, what did he know about her?

In a deep, secret part of herself, Jenny really wanted a father. She wanted someone who was strong, who would know what to do when things got strange, someone who could understand her. Now, that someone was here to fill that role, she wasn't so sure she was ready. McKinley frightened her deeply, in a way that was elemental and primal.

What did McKinley know about her? He had built her mind, but did he know _her_? Did he understand her? What secrets had he hidden inside her mind? And what would McKinley do with that knowledge?

Jenny pulled her legs closer to her body, cradling them gently against her chest. She had so many questions, and so few answers. If she had real tear ducts, tears would have been trickling down her cheeks. She was so distraught; she thought she could hear a voice. Her head perked up. She could hear a voice. Brads.

She got up from her bed and move to the window. Down bellow, Brad was on the street calling up at her. "Jenny!" He yelled with a faint bit of panic in his voice.

Jenny opened her window "Brad, what is it?" She said, careful to sound as calm as possible. She noticed Brad was not taking the same precaution.

"Jenny? Oh thank God." Brad said with relief "Jenny, Cluster just landed in down town! Why aren't you over there?"

"What?" Jenny fair well yelped, "Cluster? But, what about Vega, and… The monitors aren't going off… Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! They Fucking shot at me!" He looked nervous "Jenny, something's weird with this. They're actually shooting at people. Not like before, they aren't trying to scare us away, I mean. They're playing for keeps. And there they're building something out there, and they want to keep away anyone who might get near." He glanced around behind him, like he felt he was being followed.

Jenny's face hardened as her global defender programming began to kick in, overriding any hesitation she might have "I'll be right down Brad" She began running for her door. She would just tell her Mom, and then she'd put an end to this escapade. Her fists tightened. This time, she would put an end to any Cluster who opposed her.

* * *

A Sanguine Marksman looked through his scope at the receding form of the XJ9 as she moved farther into her house. He grimaced "Squad leader, this is Marksman one, I have lost sight of the XJ9, over" He looked down at the street where the pale, red haired human stood "Organic, designation Brad is still in sight"

A voice came through the radio with a crinkle of Static "Remember your orders Marksman one, create a diversion until Squad two can perform extraction, over"

Marksman one moved his rifle to focus on the pale organic "Sir, permission to try diversion tactic 039? Over"

The radio was silent for a few pregnant moments "You have a green light marksman one, over"

Marksman one waited, his eyes on the front door of the organics' household. Time passed, and he noticed the handle begin to turn and eventually open. The XJ9 stood in the portal, ready to spring into the air, he body poised for violence. Acting as fast as his servos would allow, Marksman one grabbed his rifle from his prone position on top of a distant household, took aim, and fired. The bullet, a six inch copper stake, tore from the muzzle at just under the speed of sound as it streaked toward its intended target.

Attempting to kill the XJ9 would have been an exercise in futility. He reflexes were as such that she could have easily moved out of the way. Even if she couldn't, her armor would easily deflect the copper projectile, and would then quickly formulate a counter attack. The Organic however, could do none of that.

In the fiery orange of the afternoon, two screams could be heard. One belonged to Brad as a projectile entered and exited his right leg, shredding tissue and ligaments as it went in a bloody red mist. His scream was filled with surprise and fear. The other, much higher in pitch, came from Jenny as she saw her best friend gunned down. Her scream was of terror and anguish.

Marksman one chambered another bullet, this one being a deadly, thremite tipped round. A round that was capable of puncturing a robot's skull, especially if they were distracted. Waiting for his new target to break cover, Marksman one savored the screams, and silently congratulated himself on a job well done.

* * *

"Move the Lift damnit!" Vega Grunted as she fended off two knife wielding sociopaths. She had positioned herself at the mouth of the elevator while J-40 was left inside to wrestle the lifts security system into submission. Vega caught a knife blow on her sword and allowed it to travel down to the hilt. Stepping in close, and with a twist of her hips, she threw one assassin to the floor. Quickly, she parried an incoming stab at her exposed flank and kicked her new assailant's legs out from under him as quick as lightning. With a quick and efficient motion she stabbed one of the downed assassins, letting black oil cover her golden sword. The other scrabbled back to his feet, caught in an uneasy standoff.

"Just. Hold. On." J-40 grunted as he furiously typed in security overrides on the elevators terminal. His eyes darted about as he typed. His fingers moved with a vicious force as they slammed in complex codes as the noise of additional assassins came from down the hallway. With a few more keystrokes, J-40 gave a grunt of satisfaction. "Vega! In the lift! Now!"

Disengaging her attackers, Vega jumped into the cramped lift just as the steel doors closed. On the outside, she could hear the furious pounding of assassins on the outside. "Shouldn't they be able to get in?" Vega said, her voice edged and ready.

"No, I wasted the terminal before we left" J-40 said with a certain smug satisfaction "Unless they blast the door open, they won't be able to get in" The lift began to move upward "And now that were moving, that won't even be a problem" He looked straight at Vega "I think we do have a problem though" in the background, the banging faded as the lift moved farther away.

"Bigger than assassins?" Vega said with a weary giggle.

J-40's face was deadly serious "Vega, you have been betrayed"

She scowled "We have no proof Jordan" Even so, she didn't retract her golden sword, letting the gore slowly slide onto the floor.

He raised his arms in frustration "Who else _besides_ someone inside the government would be able to orchestrate this? They locked off an entire floor, and even reconstructed the inside of your palace. Damnit Vega, They got weapons inside the palace! Who else Vega? Who else could do that?"

"I… Jordan, I only told you and…"

"And?" He asked, probing

"…Gerzon…" Vegan said, her voice flat and emotionless

J-40 stopped for a few seconds. "Damn" He swore, as he slammed his fist into the side of the lift. His new appendage of a tail swished about nervously. "It had to be that filthy piece of vaporware…" He was silent for a few seconds "We can still do this. We need to get to the central security hub. He can't change any programming on the Royal guard, so they are still loyal. This has to be quiet though. If people hear of a Coup it could mean disaster. I need you to-"

Quietly, Vega interrupted J-40 "Jordan…Where is this lift taking us?"

"It's taking us to… Wait, oh fuck" J-40 began punching button on the consol frantically "Fuck! Come on change! Change you bastard!" He fairly well screamed at the unresponsive control panel.

Faintly, a musical ding could be heard over J-40 swearing as the elevator stopped. The unlocking mechanisms disengaged a deep, resonant thump. Vega and J-40 stared at the doors witch opened with a slow and exaggerated dread. They opened to the royal suits, only to reveal an elderly robot lounging in a armchair. He was of a large body, and siting in a relaxed position. He was facing the elevator as it opened, and held a deadly electro-magnetic weapon in his hand with a terrifying familiarity. A tiny light came from its barrel, signifying that it was active, and pointed directly at a stunned J-40 and Vega.

Gerzon frowned from his position in his chair "You two." He said "Are becoming quite a nuisance"

* * *

"Calm Down Jenny!" McKinley yelled as he held Jenny on the floor of Dr. Wakemans house. Jenny wasn't listening as she babbled incoherent words. She was struggling as hard as she could, flailing her arms in desperation. If McKinley had no bionic implants, she would have surely overpowered him. As it was, he has Jenny pinned underneath him in a wrestlers hold. Even with a arm that could crush solid rock, a thirty years of desperation taught combat skills, he could barley hold her. If she had been a strained grappler, she would have escaped. Dr. Wakeman herself was close by, frantically mumbling to herself. Sheldon peered out of the houses windows, looking for something. Outside, Brad was screaming.

"God Damnit girl, Listen to me!" McKinley yelled as he strained to hold Jenny on the floor. His teeth were grinding together as he struggled to hold her, and under his skin a thick black vein was pulsing.

"I have to Help Him!" Jenny screamed as she fought. Another long scream of pain came from outside, redoubling Jenny's efforts. The sound of bending metal came from McKinley's right arm.

"You're going to get yourself killed!" McKinley bellowed at his daughter "They want you to go out there Jenny. Listen to me!" Jenny didn't seem to notice. "If you go out there they'll kill you both!" McKinley was pleading now.

"They can't kill me, I won't let them!" Jenny shrieked. Brad screams had died to a low, mournful moan. McKinley slapped her.

"Listen to me!" he said, his face enraged "They are trying to get you to leave the house. They. Are. Going. To. Kill. You. If you do go outside, you're dead! You can't help Brad if you're dead! I am _not _going to loose you again!" Jenny stopped struggling. Softly, she began to weep." McKinley cupped her head in his hands firmly "We don't have time for tears Jenny. I need you to listen to me, if you do, we can save Brad. You got that Kiddo?" Jenny sniffed. McKinley gave a terse smile "Good."

"Jenny, you're going to need to move fast, real fast. I know this is hard, but you're going to have to ignore Brad. You need to get the Sniper. Just focus on him, nothing else, got it?" Jenny looked at him mournfully "Don't worry Jen, he'll be fine, just as long as you can let the rest of us help him." He looked to the side "Nora, Sheldon. Have you finished the equations?"

Nora nodded "Yes, whoever fired that must have been on top of the twelfth house on the right judging by the angle"

Sheldon piped up "he can't get a good shot at us from here, So you should have .5 seconds worth of free time outside Jenny" he bit his lower lip.

McKinley let Jenny stand up "You ready Jenny? Get the sniper, then get Brad, got it?"

In response, Jenny began to transform. Her Body became smoother, and more streamlined. A plexiglass facemask folded over her head ad her pigtails moved into low and compact positions. Her feet sprouted wheels, and formidable rockets. Streamlined, Jenny knelt into a runners crouch. "Yeah" she said, her voice thick with rage and determination, "I got it."

* * *

"You can't Imagine what sort of position this puts me in" Gerzon said as he lounged in his chair.

'Ah, Ah, Ah" He said as Vega began to speak, pointing his weapon threateningly "A single word out of either of you and I wipe you hard drives. I would never have thought that the Spawn of Vexus would be able to draw any sort of help, even if it was from a failure like the Lord here." Vega closed her mouth. "That I guess just makes you all the more dangerous. If I didn't try and remove you now, you certainly would become a tyrant. Just like your bitch of a mother."

"I have to say though, out of all the simulations I ran, I didn't expect this." He made a wry smile "I expected that bullet to puncture your little snobbish brain." He gestured with his left hand "It would have been perfect, what with having a scapegoat to blame it on." He made a frustrated face at J-40 "Really, your Uncle assured me you were much, much less competent. I didn't even think you would have been able to find even one cell, let alone that last one. And that daring escape downstairs, Kudos, I suppose" He stood up

"But this leaves me in an awkward position. Namely, how do I make this look like you killed each other?" He shrugged "It's not like it would be difficult, I could easily make it look like an act of passion on your part boy. Your flirting with the queen has been the topic of the court for the last few days" Noticing J-40 indignation, he made a face "Oh don't even try to deny it, you act like a fleshling in heat. The only problem with that is I'd need someone to play Vega's lover, and let's face it girl, you really aren't a looker. Though I suppose I could say it was for political reasons." He gave a grin "I guess I could work it out after I kill you both though"

Gerzon made a double take "Oh look at me, making a speech like a Holovid villain. I really am embarrassed. Good thing no one will actually remember this. I'll be sure to have you both buried in a nice place." He pulled the trigger.

As fast as thought, J-40 sprung into action. He flung Vega to the floor as her simultaneously stabbed his tail into the nearby control consol. He flung himself forward in a headlong dive just as the elevator door closed in a jarring clang, barely avoiding both the metal jaws of the elevator and the EM pulse. As the doors closed, all Vega could make out was the feral hiss of rage that escaped J-40's mouth.

Trapped on the other side of the elevator, Vega felt the ground beneath her move as she was shunted off to another part of the Palace. She banged on the steel doors with her free hand "Jordan! Cog damnit let me out of here!" If he heard, he didn't acknowledge her plea.

That, or he was already dead.

* * *

A robotic brain can process information at speeds unimaginable to a human. A second can be stretched out into an entire day, or even a month. It would be like moving through a world that had frozen, in comparison. Most robots had subroutines that allowed them to think a meat speeds in ordinary life, staving away monotony induced madness. A Cluster solider often was boosted even beyond that capability, and at their full ability could move fast enough so that they could keep up with their reaction speeds. In essence, the entire world slowed down while they stayed the same.

Compared to Jenny Though, it was as if they were standing still.

To the outside world, it was like nothing had even moved, save for a particularly strong gust of wind and a deafening sonic boom. To the Sanguine, it was like a streak of blue lightning. To Jenny, I was just a brisk run.

Covering the distance between her and the cluster solider in fractions of a second She caught sight of Marksman one, crouched on the top of an empty building. She could see his eyes open in shock as he fired his rifle, more of a reflex than an actual attack. She easily sidestepped the shot, allowing it to harmlessly impact the ground. She crouched and jumped.

She landed on top of the house, next to Marksman one. He was still frozen in shock, undoubtedly trying to turn as fast as he possibly could. Without a second thought, Jenny rammed her metal fist through his face. She pulled back, leaving a hole the size of a grapefruit inside of Marksman ones head. Still moving at her maximum capacity, It was like Marksman one hadn't even noticed the blow; he still stood rigid in place. Jenny took a few moments to assess the position Marksman one had been on. Her chemical receptors could "smell" many things out here, oil, concrete, drywall, carrion, blood. With a rising dread she could tell that the people who lived her were dead. She could smell more Machinery inside. There were more soldiers inside. Her face contorted in rage. They would all pay every last one.

The carnage lasted for only a few seconds in real time, but for Jenny, it seemed like an eternity.

* * *

Brad coughed. He couldn't tell where he was. His vision was dull and muddy, and everything around him seemed muffled, like cotton had been jammed in his ears. He was so hot, he felt like he was on fire. Dimly, he noticed a coppery taste in his mouth.

He thought he could smell something. Smoke? Ozone? He couldn't tell. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a low moan. He moved his arm. It was like weights were tied to it. Vaguely, he could remember being shot. He couldn't focus, everything was in a haze.

Brad heard a voice "He's going into shock" Sheldon? He couldn't tell

Another voice, "I need a tourniquet, he's loosing a lot of blood.' This one was gruff.

Weakly, Brad forced himself to speak "W- wa- water…" He croaked out. He was so thirsty.

He felt something pressed against his head. It was wet and cold, and felt beautiful. The gruff voice came again "I think he has a concussion. We need to get him to a hospital."

"How?" came the Sheldon-esqu voice "Jenny just head off towards downtown?"

_Jenny_… _I had something to tell her. _Brad thought weakly _What is she doing downtown? Wait… Did I tell her? I'm so tired. _He heard the gruff voice speak again "get Nora. I have to stay."

"Why?"

"I'm going to finish this"

Brad could feel himself moving. It was like floating really. He was moving in gentle waves across the air. He couldn't feel his leg. _I wonder if that's normal… I'll have to ask Mrs. Wakeman… right after my nap…_

* * *

* * *

Aaaand We is done!

Blarg, choppy chapter, lots o' intrigue and betrayal and action. Honestly, I don't like it too much. That's What I get for trying to wrap the story up I guess. Looks like were in for two more chapters folks, Hold on to your hats. Now all you need to wonder is if I'm going to get into the habit of killing characters…

I don't have much to say right now besides thanks to every one who still reads this. Apparently I lost some readers with the last one. I would type more, but I'm really, really tired.

Only you can restore my energy! I, God of poorly written prose require a sacrifice! Give me you time in the form of review so I can become strong. The More I receive, the better the next chapter will be. So sayeth the wizard of Wack!

Suggestions welcomed


	8. Chapter 8

Ties of Blood, Ties of Oil

A "My life as a teenage robot" Fanfic

Chapter 8:

Wherein the events up till now reach their breaking point

With a few grunts of effort, McKinley popped open the head casing of a Sanguine Drone. With a careless hand he tossed away the exposed plate. It clanged loudly and skittered away into a corner of the room and disappeared into the darkness. Using his mechanical arm, McKinley began to widen the exposed area, molding and pushing the metal. It was a long and laborious process as McKinley worked at the Droids open head.

Eventually, he pried open the brain casing of the droid. The Brain of the droid was a complex mesh of wires and steel. Nodes could be seen in the mesh, dead and dark. McKinley frowned. _Needs power_ He thought. His eyes traveled down to the robots chassis. _This is going to end poorly _McKinley thought as he began to take off his shirt, exposing his mechanical upper body. He squeezed his eyes tight as a gasp somewhere between ecstasy and agony escaped his lips. Like serpents from ancient myth, four tendril exited from his back. They moved seemingly of their own violation, looking about the room in a manner that could suggest curiosity.

They snaked toward the broken robot with a fluid precision. They red lenses glinted in the dim lighting as tiny arms extended from the tendrils. Small and dexterous tools extend from the tendrils as they descended on the Sanguine's chassis. With great efficiency, the tendrils stripped away the covering armor of the Sanguine, delving deep into its internal workings. Bright sparks emerged from the cutting torches as the tendrils searched through the bowels of the solider. McKinley sniffed and shook his head. As the Tendrils worked he began to go in and out of consciousness as his mind was split between five distinct bodies. Normally he could handle one or two tendrils, but all four put a distinct strain on him. His eyes began to wander aimlessly. He sniffed again and brought his hand to his nose. He pulled it back only to see his black and red blood upon his hand.

McKinley drew his tendrils back into him with a strained breath of air. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand and then plunged into the chest of the robot. He rooted around inside until his hands found a cylindrical device. With a wrench of his hands, he ripped it from the robots body. Oil and coolant pooled upon the ground and his hands. The device was a deep grey color, with dull blue LED lights around it and was roughly a foot long and five inches in diameter.

Reaching back into the robot, McKinley grabbed a handful of wires. Setting them to the side, He turned back to the brain of the robot. With workman like care he gently removed the brain. He winced as her heard dome wires snap, hoping that they weren't system critical. With exaggerated care, he began tying parts of the brain to the cylinder with the appropriated wires. With his right hand, McKinley cracked open the cylinder revealing several delicate filaments.

He flipped his cybernetic arm palm up, and opened a small access panel on the underside of his arm. Inside, several coiled wires and attachments lay waiting. McKinley grabbed one and gingerly stretched it out to a manageable length. With care, he hooked it up to the cylindrical.

In a snap and a hiss, the Cylinder sparked into life. The LED lights grew bright, while McKinley seemed to grow weaker. Electric light danced along the wires to the exposed brain. Lights blinked and fired inside the brain, and soon it was glowing a deep, angry red. Sighing in relief, McKinley reached over into his trench coat which lay only a few feet away.

He dug around in its pockets for a few moments before he drew back his hand. He opened it with relish, revealing a tiny USB device. He reached again into his right arm, searching for some attachment. He gave a sidelong look at the USB. "Well Loki," He said "It looks like you get to do something useful after all" The USB remained silent.

"Right" McKinley said as he removed an attachment from his arm. "Let's do this" He hooked the two devices together. There was a soft beep as the transfer completed.

"Give 'em Hell"

* * *

In the center of Tremorton, the Beleaguered Cluster tried to hold their crumbling fortifications together. Soldiers rushed to ad fro, re-enforcing and securing strategic points. Mechanics worked frantically on the teleported while the Body of Queen Vexus lay under heavy guard by the few Sanguine in the fortification. Plasma fire erupted in frequent intervals as every available solider gathered together to stop the XJ9.

Jenny was moving slower now, her excess energy all but used up from her episode of anger earlier. Even as slow as she was, these ordinary Cluster drones stood no chance against her. Plasma sloughed uselessly of her armor As she demolished Squad after squad of Drones. As she did, dark portions of her brain activated. They had lain dormant through most of her life, slumbering in the darkness. But the emotional stimuli had allowed old and forgotten subroutines activate. Easter eggs of programs began to emerge from hibernation, called upon in Jenny's time of need. A dark beast stirred within her.

Jenny was much more human than she knew. Her brain was nearly a perfect replication of a real human brain. It was of course faster, and some parts of human consciousness had been repressed, and therein laid the difference. McKinley and Nora were never able to remove those portions of the brain, only repress. And there her programming waited, every ready to reclaim its position at the forefront of the mind.

The first time this happened, Jenny developed the aberrant personality of a teenager, complete with the desires and passions. But his change inside her was much more sinister. Now her primal self, the beast that lurks ever in the heats of man, passed down to her by her creators, had awoken. Instincts rushed into the subconscious mind of Jenny subtly altering her combat protocols. Her programming changed like corrupted wheat, turning dark. When the cluster struck out at those she cared for, they had awoken something terrible. No longer was she the sentinel, the defender. She was the hunter.

A growl rose unbidden to her lips as she fought, and over time, it changed to a giggle.

* * *

The Lift door to the royal suite burst open in a spectacular display as the Cluster Royal guard forced their way into the battle torn room. Quickly, the Royal guard spread out through the room sweeping for any threat. Working together in perfect sync, they cleared the room. In a mechanical tone, they stated simply "Room cleared, It is safe for the queen to enter" the ascertain traveled through radio waves to the remaining Royal Guards in the lift. Each gently moved to the side and allowed a anxious Vega to press past them. She strode into the room with urgency.

The room had been torn to shreds. Gouges and scorch marks lingered as grisly landscaping throughout the span of the suite . Smoke filled the passageways, clogging the sensors of every robot causing some to even make soft coughing noises as they cleared their nasal sensors. Oil and coolant lay splattered around the room in random and chaotic shapes, light cheerfully playing of them as small fire burned in the corner of the Suite. Vega glanced at the damage with an anxious face _Jordan, what did you do? _She moved hurriedly about the room, shadowed by her attending guards. _Please be OK _She thought as she searched. She couldn't let the only person who was really loyal to her die, she just couldn't. Without regard to her won safety, she stepped into a an adjacent room pouring with smoke.

Turning the corner she saw Gerzon sprawled in an undignified, he back leaning against a wall. Two of her guards stood by him, vigilant. Oil was dribbling from his mouth and a massive chest wound gouged in his chassis. Sparks flew from the wound at odd intervals, starting fires which quickly burnt themselves out. His right hand was missing, torn cruelly from his arm. One leg lay twisted uselessly underneath him. His eyes stared blankly into oblivion, frozen in a grimace of disbelief. Vegas gaze noticed blue paint scuffed around Gerzons fist and head. _Jordan's paint, _she thought. She broke away from Gerzon, frantically looking about the suite again, his treachery forgotten.

"One thousand years…" Vega heard from behind her. She spun around to see Gerzon stirring slightly, his eyes re-focusing. He guards flew into action, leveling their spears at Gerzon, preparing to fight. Vega looked in a macabre fascination as Gerzon began talking "One thousand years I planned this-" He coughed, spiting up errant oil and wires. "I planned everything to overthrow the line of Vexus. I organized the assassins, insinuated myself into a position of power. I waited…" He grimaced "And that little idiot had to ruin it." He began to laugh in a weak wheezy voice "You're lucky bitch, he certainly is a keeper. Oh, sorry, was" He gave a ugly grin, his mouth stained black.

Vega moved toward Gerzon, towering above his crumpled body "I trusted you Gerzon…" She began, her voice thick with smoldering anger "I looked up to you like a father, and you betrayed me." She leaned down, now face to face with the Traitor "Why?" she said.

Gerzon gave a weak chuckle. "Why?" His laugh continued "Because, you're Vexus' daughter." He coughed, spraying bits of oil over Vega's chest "You are tyranny"

"Tyranny?" Vega said, slightly incredulous. "I wanted a republic you, you… you fool" She managed to spit out over her anger.

Gerzon's lips curled back in disgust "People don't change girl. You would have turned eventually, just like your mother and the ones before her." He moved his head to better face her "I would have stopped it, the conquering, the wars. The Cluster would enter a new age of freedom."

"One controlled directly by you."

"And what would be wrong with that? I am the only robot truly qualified to rule this empire. Not some brat who would rather shirk her duties than actually rule her people.." His face was livid.

Vega stood up "I've heard enough, take him away" She motioned to the guards, who quickly bound and hauled the ruined form of Gerzon away. She watched dispassionately as he has dragged to the elevator, and returned to her search.

From the lift, Gerzon yelled with all his might "There will be a reckoning whore! There will be others! People don't change!" He was cut off at the lift door closed, leaving only the sounds of the cackling fires in the room.

Silently, and without betraying her feelings to the guards around her, Vega began to cry. For the life of her, she couldn't tell whether it was from a trust betrayed, or the fear that he was right

* * *

Inside a building, a squad of anti-armor Cluster soldiers waited. They held massive armor piercing weapons over their shoulders. They look periodically out of the windows at the empty streets below. They had been listening to the radio chatter and plasma bursts from a few blocks over for a while now. Some of the soldiers were getting jumpy now that the plasma had stopped, a fact made even grimmer now that the chatter from squad six had gone dead.

"Sarge? What are we waiting for?" a green solider asked with a bit of fear in his voice.

The sergeant gave an irritated look at the younger solider "What were doing private is trying to catch the XJ9 in an exposed position. If'n she's going to get to the fortification without getting chewed up by the anti air she'll have to come down that street" He looked up at one of the window watchers "4-LOM, see anything yet?"

4-LOM turned back "No sir. It's as dry as restraint bolt" He looked out the window again vigilantly.

The Green solider wasn't comforted "yeah, but aren't you worried about Squad six? They hasn't said anything for a while… and it's quiet."

"Stow that talk solider." The Sergeant barked "We're the Cluster boy. We're not going to let some blue bucket of bolts beat us now are we?" The Green solider shook his head "That's right." The Sergeant grunted

4-LOM gave a glance back from the window "Besides, It's just a robot like us Man. She's really just well armored." He banged on his weapon "And these babies will put a stop to that. She isn't that though. It's not like she's a monster" He laughed.

4-LOM's breath caught in his chest as tiny, blue streaked wires of monofilament rope cascaded around him from the window he was supposed to be watching. His eyes widened as he saw the terrified reactions of the rest of the squad, as they scrambled for their weapons. His eyes traveled to the razor sharp wire that covered his body entangling him. With a strangled cry, 4-LOM was torn into five roughly divided chunks by an unseen assailant.

The rest of the squad immediately fell into defensive postures. Their eyes darted around the room, weapons at ready. The soldiers avoided the windows now as they waited, locked in a tense standoff. The room was completely silent. They sat there for what seemed like an age in complete silence. There came the sound of a pressured release of gas

The squad whirled to see the hapless solider dragged through an open window by some sort of harpoon protruding from his leg. He screamed as he exited from the building, scrabbling frantically as he tried to unsheathe his knife. He was pulled bodily through the nearest window as he attempted to slash in vain at the cord that drew him, tearing a large chunk of drywall as he went. Out of sight, the scream rose to an unbearable pitch, and then stopped abruptly. The room was dead quiet again, save for the whirring servos of the drones. The Cluster held their breaths in anticipation for the next attack. There was the sound of movement above them, like lightly tapping steel against stone.

Then the giggling began, high and girlish.

* * *

"Sheldon, how long until we reach the hospital?" Dr. Wakeman said from the back of her car. She dabbed Brad's forehead with a wet towel and checked his wounds and bandages. As Brad began to give a soft moan, she made soft and reassuring noises until he subsided.

"About ten minutes Dr," Sheldon responded. He didn't have a license, and at the moment was struggling with the controls of the car. Besides taking his Dads car out for a few blocks and numerous driving simulators, this was his first time on the road. His heart was hammering inside his chest, threatening to burst. He would have wished to switch places with Dr. Wakeman, but he knew less about medicine than driving. It wasn't too hard to drive though, especially since he was avoiding the main streets which we clogged with fleeing people. Clumsily, he guided the behemoth of a van down the side streets of Tremorton.

Dr. Wakeman sighed "He can make it that long I think" She checked Brads temperature, and pulled her hand back disappointedly. "Temperature is still too high…" She muttered as she began applying antiseptic to Brad's leg.

The wound itself was a gruesome sight. The round used by the sniper had been a copper alloy, designed to flatten after impact and deal maximum damage to the soft structure of the body. Luckily for Brad the velocity of the projectile had allowed it to completely puncture Brad's leg and leave no foreign materials behind. Still, the damage was horrific to observe. Red mussel tissue could be seen beneath a forest of caked blood. White and yellow tendons could be seen as well, and even torn asunder they still flexed weakly. Worse still, the thigh bone had been fractured, ending tiny bone fragments into the already ruined muscle. Yellow marrow oozed slowly from the shattered bone. The makeshift tourniquet was keeping Brad from bleeding out, but it was doing nothing to help the pain. And if the femoral artery had been hit, it wouldn't have even done that.

Nervous, Sheldon squeaked out "Is he going to be OK?" His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he stopped the car at an intersection. His eyes darted nervously around the empty street. He flinched as he heard an explosion in the distance.

Nora gave Brad's leg a critical look. "Judging by the damage done to the Femur and the Vastus Lateralis muscel, it would be difficult. But it could be done. Just a bit of care and some reconstructive surgery, maybe some cell therapy. They could grow it back." She wet Brads head again "The problem is keeping him from dieing _before _that. And he's going to need a blood transfusion."

"Yeah" Sheldon said. He pressed harder on the gas and sped towards the hospital. It was a weird feeling having someone's life in his hands.

* * *

Safe inside their fortifications, Cluster engineers worked furiously at the ground based teleport. An complicated and elegant machine, aligned precisely in a seam between space and time. When in sync with another unit, the Cluster Jump Gate would weaken space/time in a localized area, creating a stable wormhole between the original station and its twin. The problem with the device lay in it fragile nature, its power consumption, and the time it took to construct.

The Cluster mechanics were watched by the vigilant and paranoid Sanguine. They held there weapons at the ready, dispassionately noting every time an explosion went off in the distance. Three stood over a secured coffin like box that housed the body of Vexus to protect her from further damage. Four sharp shooters lingered around vantage points, watching the grey buildings around the beach head. Communications with the soldiers outside the encampment had gone dead now for at least five minutes, too long to be certain.

The fortification itself was a achievement of cluster technology and functionality. Made of primarily twenty six nodes, the fortification had been placed with painstaking detail around the Jump Gate. Each node, when activated by a portable Cluster fusion generator, spread a wall of electro-magnetic force fields amongst the remaining nodes. Several areas were unshielded, allowing for heavy turrets to push out menacingly. Nearly indestructible, the fortification could protect from attacks that would atomize even fullerene. A frontal attack was impossible, and the air was too well protected for a successful strike.

That left Jenny only the option of coming at them from bellow.

Hand over hand, Jenny crawled through the soil. Dirt clung to her arms as she propelled herself through the earth. Her eyes were glowed a dull, fluorescent purple as her eyes peered through the earth in the electromagnetic spectrum, searching for electrical equipment. Through the soil and asphalt above, Jenny saw the robots above her as they glowed in white, electric light. She was close now, only about ten feet from the surface. She wormed her way up farther.

Somewhere inside her mind, she felt disgusted by the filth around her, but she fought it down. All she had now was the Cluster, and what they had done to Brad. She could still remember him back out on the street, his back arching in pain, his eyes dilated. Until then, she really hadn't realized how much of a friend Brad was to her. And those people she found in the houses captured by the Cluster. Their necks hewn open while blood pooled over there chests. She had never seen a dead person before. She felt horrible, like something inside her was trying to escape. But instead of tears, or a growl of rage, she began to giggle again. She knew something was amiss, but she couldn't focus on it.

Above the ground the Sanguine stood guard over the inert body of their queen as the engineers connected the last few filaments through the Jump Gate. With a splintering noise, reality split asunder in a swirl of multicolored light. Shielding their eyes, the Sanguine hoisted the case with Vexus, two on each side, and began moving towards the rip. They moved with jaunty motions towards the space/time rift.

Suddenly, the case holding Vexus tilted as one of the Sanguine fell to his knees. He staggered back to his feet only to fall again. Hands and knees in the dirt and broken asphalt, he looked down along with the other Sanguine. There, on his calf, was an oil and dirt covered hand as white as china. His eyes widened as he frantically tried to pull away, but the hand tightened and pulled, throwing him on his stomach. Another Sanguine grabbed his arms and pulled, dragging him slowly to his feet. Another arm flew out of the ground, fastening onto the prone Sanguine as well, dragging him down. With the sound of rending metal, the Sanguine disappeared with a terrible scream, his scrabbling and tearing deep grooves in the earth. The surface was quiet again, only a deep, black hole gave any indication anything had ever happened.

The Sanguine exploded into action. No longer in their calm fashion, the three case bearers hoisted their burden and ran. Others armed their weapons and optics and searched for the unseen assailant. The air was full of shouts and orders. Plasma bursts roared into the earth, sending up tiny paffs of dirt. The Sanguine, surprised and disorganized, spread out, minimizing the chance of being taken at once.

As the Sanguine entered the gate, noise could be heard behind them. In one terrifying instant, the shouts turned to screams, shrill and dissonant. As the buzz of the Jump gate pervaded the remaining Sanguine's senses, a sound chilled them to the bone.

Laughter…

* * *

Vega searched vainly about the ruined suite for J-40, her hands black with soot. She moved rocks and metal with her bar hands even as emergency robots moved throughout the room, putting out fire and maintaining structural stability. With a grunt, she heaved a metal plate to the side. She looked under it expectantly.

Like before, there was nothing. Vega sighed in disgust and moved to another pile of debris. She had been searching since she had entered the suite. And in all the time she had been here, she couldn't find J-40. She knew it was to much to hope he was alive, but she needed to find him. After giving his _life_ to save her, she couldn't even find his body.

She brushed away a tear with the back of hand. She was just so confused. She was without parents, had no friends, betrayed, and now she couldn't even find the person who had at least tried to be her friend, without any agenda. She felt like she had let him down somehow. She sniffed. She never even got to say goodbye.

The Guards had told her that he might not be dead, that robots were durable and hard to kill. She wanted to believe it, but she knew it was a lie. If he was alive they would have found him by now. She opened an adjacent door, hoping to search the next room. She gasped.

There in the room, or closet really, was J-40. His body was twisted and ruined as he leay amongst a puddle of oil and gears. Burn marks and deformations could be seen all over his body, some so terrible the inner machinery could be seen, as ruined as it was. J-40 face was nearly gone, cruelly burned, his eyes and nose had been scorched beyond recovery. The melted machinery oozed into his mouth, which hung open and loose. His torso. Vega looked down and noticed claw marks in the floor, extending all the way out of the room. J-40 must have crawled all the way here, like a wounded animal.

Vega sunk to her knees. She extended a hand slowly, and gently touched j-40 on the chest. No response. Her face drew tight _He might not be completely gone _She thought desperately. If his hard drive was intact, she could make a new body for him with all of his memories that made him who he was. He'd be alive again. Vega pried open J-40 chest plate, and began searching.

J-40's internal components were totaled. Electrical damage and internal fires had all but vaporized his insides. Vega brushed the components aside and grabbed a tiny silver and black device. Holding her breath, Vega removed J-40's hard drive. Her face fell as she saw the dark hole burnt clear through the center. She let it fall to the floor, where it gave a dull clang.

Vega's shoulders slumped, and she began to cry. She took the remains of J-40 and brought them close to her, letting tears fall on his ruined head. She wept for his death, she wept for how he died, and she wept for what he could have done. But mostly, she wept for him leaving her. He was the only person in this entire Empire who really had been devoted to her. She didn't want him to go, she couldn't let him go. She choked out a sob, her body shaking with its force. Then she felt something.

Down along his back, there was a tiny abrasion. Stifling a further sob, she looked around his back. There, like a squirming eel, was a tiny black cord. It stretched across the ground in a maddening coil, until finally ending at a nearby access terminal for climate control. A interface had been jammed in an open port of the terminal. Vega leaned closer to the terminal, which was flashing. She stared at the strange behavior. Flash, Flash, Flash Flash Flash, Flash… It continued ad-infinitum. Vega stared in astonishment as the binary message unfolded before her eyes. Repeating over and over, the terminal flashed the word "Help"

Vega broke into a tearful smile. _He must have known he was dieing, and crawled all the way to this terminal_ She thought _He transferred himself into the terminal! _She stood still for a moment, just watching the flashing lights

He was alive.

* * *

Tatican looked intently at his view screen of the bridge of the _Talon. _He leans back on his chair, watching the sub-space feeds from the earth beachhead. His fingers taped together thoughtfully as the images played over the screen in from of him. He dispassionately observed the XJ9's efficient and brutal assault. She was, Tatican observed, a fiendish opponent, creative, capable, deadly, and most of all, intelligent.

He analyzed her attack, every trick, every tactic. He was impressed. Her unorthodox methods were throwing the Sanguine into confusion, and that was undoubtedly her goal. She struck from ambush and fortified locations, minimizing the chance of her being wounded. She fought like a warrior ten times her age. Tatican had been correct to only try and distract her. To try and destroy her would have taken an entire regiment. As it was, he took the opportunity to study her movements and tactics for future engagements.

And her armor! It was magnificent. Everything but heavy weapons was easily shrugged aside, and even then she maintained perfect mobility and morphology. From what Tatican had learned about this pathetic little mudball was that something like this was leagues beyond what the planet should have been able to create. She was a fluke, a perfect, glorious fluke.

In his mind, he knew his admiration was only a distraction from what he really wanted to see. Ten decks bellow, his queen waited in sick bay. Unconscious still, she sat in her metal coffin, waiting to arise. He burned to see her again, to see her after so many years in space. His insides were full of snakes that writhed inside him causing him to shuffle in his seat. He wondered, how would she feel? What would happen now, would she seen him differently? Would he have the courage? His arm twitched a fraction of an inch in his turmoil. If he could, he would have gone there at this second, but he needed to watch the battle, too absorb the knowledge.

The scene before him petered out with the XJ9 eviscerating the last lonely Sanguine. She was drenched in robot gore now, and it dripped viscously from her arms and legs. Her eyes looked lazily around the ruined battlefield, searching for remaining enemies. They passed over the corpses of the Sanguine, the broken turrets which leaked sizzling liquids, and finally rested on the dead and deactivated Jump Gate. Something changed In the XJ9 then. Her posture, which had been rigid and combative, sunk. She seemed to lose all strength as she sunk to the floor and the stress and horror finally crashed upon her. She put her hands to her eyes, and began to cry bitter tears.

If Tatican had a mouth, he would have smiled. Her weakness was delicious to watch. _No matte how fearsome of a fighter she is, she is not yet a warrior _Tatican thought _She has yet to be tempered. She has the skill and power of a warrior, but not the heart. No, she has not yet passed the test of the heart. _His fingers knit together _And therein lies her weakness, she has yet to deal with real loss. Fascinating._ He stroked his chin _I would expect more from a global defense robot._

He sat up straight "Ensign, I've seen enough. Has the frigate arrived yet?" his voice was brusque and impatient. He wanted to leave.

The Ensign didn't seem to notice his tone as he fiddled with his terminals touch screen. "Yes Supreme Commander, they are just exiting Hyperspace. Coordinates for the next Jump Sir?" he queried.

"Take us past the Horse head nebula, to base 17-DC. That has a high loyalist support; we can hope to stage a relatively harmless takeover." Tatican said after a moments consideration. The Ensign nodded and punched in a few coordinates on his screen while quickly transmitting the orders the Armada. Slowly, the armada moved into action, like a slumbering giant. Bright, multi-colored light sparked on the bridge of every ship as they prepared for the hyperspace jump, each ship allowing the energy to coalesce around them. Tatican sat back in his seat as space ripped asunder, waiting. His eyes opened wide as his view screen flickered.

There, through a white, static background, stood a human. Not any normal human Tatican had seen though. His clothes were primitive, animal skins and furs primarily, along with a few ancient iron tools at his hip. His skin was pasty white, and his eyes were a piercing red with great mischief behind them, but that was not his most startling feature. His hair was made of fire, and it crackled with a malevolent glow across the view screen. He looked around the screen, like he was observing his surroundings. He scratched his head, and spoke in a voice like a crackling fire "Wow, the boss was right. You wankers do have poor electronic security."

Tatican stood up in his chair "What is this?" He said, furious "Who are you?" His hands clenched.

The Image looked amused "Me? Why that's uncommonly kind of you to ask." He gave a bow "Names Loki. Just your friendly, neighborhood AI construct. And you are?"

Tatican ignored Loki, instead turning to a helmsman "Flush this nuisance from our system, drone"

The drone hammered madly as Loki looked interestedly from his view screen. Loki smiled "Ohh, that's a new one. Trying to go through the lower subsystems, haven't tried that that like twenty-fucking-thousand times.' He made a dismissive gesture "God, you people are a bunch of cock-bags aren't you?"

Tatican was trembling with rage "What do you want construct." He said. His voice sounded like he was speaking through clenched teeth, even though he had none.

Loki gave a wide smile "Want? I don't really want anything. It's the Boss who wants something." He looked around "Do you know what happens when even one variable changes in a hyperspace destination solution?"

Taticans eyes widened as he spun the nearest available ensign. "Shut the Jump down! Shut it down!"

The ensign struggled with his terminal "I can't! were already committed, and he's locked the controls!" Tatican's face contorted in anger.

As the world around them dissolved in the saturated hues of the Hyperspace Jump, Loki could be heard saying "Oh, yeah, I forgot to say, Apotheosis 175 says hi"

The last thing that could be heard on the bridge was Taticans howl of rage.

* * *

Howdy Ho everybody!

Well, looks like we just reached the climax. (Activate innuendo mode) Was it good for you? (Innuendo mood deactivated) As one might guess, the next chapter is going to wrap things up nicely. Or as nicely as I can hope. Also, I think I'll have a little epilogue after that.

You know, for fun.

So that's two more chapters for everybody. That should make up for today's super short one. I tried to pace everything a little better this time, so I hope it worked. Also, you probably have noticed I am _not _in the habit of killing characters (well, not to much. Smytus did bite the big one) Really, I think I might give them some more motivation before I off them. (Insert evil laugh here)

You might have noticed I took the review demand down from the story synopsis. I realized that most of the stories that have that in front of them are… ehhh… Bad. Besides, I do enough of that here. Speaking of which…

Come my fellows! The Fire Nation needs your support! Only with your reviews can we catch the Vile Avatar. Show your support for our great nation and donate your reviews to the local army supply depot. Remember, each of you are but one spark of the larger whole! With your patriotism the Fire Nation can finally civilize the world!

Note:

Jenny has a stress triggered case of mania, where she obsesses over removing the Cluster. This is a simple form of temporary madness, and is relatively common. Don't worry, she'll be fine.


	9. Chapter 9

Ties of Blood, Ties of Oil

A "My life as a teenage robot" Fanfic

Chapter 9:

Where we learn the Status of our fallen heroes, and several plot points are concluded.

It was like crawling out of a tunnel.

Brad slowly regained his wits as what seemed to be a white light pierced his eyes. He felt sluggish and slow, like he was lying in molasses. Through the lens of his mind, everything seemed just, slower, than before. He tried to raise his hand to blot out the light, but he could only muster a feeble twitch. A grunt escaped him as the movement sent a lance of pain through his right leg, originating in his thigh.

He blinked his eyes, and slowly the world came into focus. He slowly noticed he was in a room of some sort. It was entirely white, except for the ceiling light in the center of the room. He turned his head to the side, and then quickly shut his eyes. Bright yellow light, streaming in from an open window, temporarily blinded him. Its yellow rays stabbed into his eyes like little daggers. Brad shut his eyes tightly, hoping the daggers wouldn't twist. He waited until the pain died down. Slowly, he opened his eyelids, allowing for his eyes to adjust to the light. He noticed he was in a bed of some sort. There was a railing on this side of the bed, colored in a white, dead plastic. The covers he was under were a horrid light blue color. Still groggy, he rolled his head to the other side.

There was a curtain on this side. With a slight annoyance Brad noticed that it was the same color blue as his sheets. There really wasn't anything beyond the curtain though that he could see. Absently, he lay back in his bed, staring at the ceiling. _What happened? _He wondered to himself. Brad thought hard through the swimming chaos of his mind, trying to remember _I remember going to Jenny's… Something about custard? No, no, not custard, the cluster. Yeah, that was it, the cluster were attacking. And Jenny told me she'd be there, and then…_

Brad's eyes snapped into focus, and with strength born from fear he threw off his covers. Instantly he regretted it as his right leg sent a bolt of agony through him. But he got a good look at his bandaged leg in the process. It was wrapped heavily and had several wires running off to the end of the bed which snaked of like silver snakes. He let his head fall back heavily _Holy shit _Brad thought _I was shot. _He mused over the implications of his wound for a few seconds, and then smiled _Oh this is going to make one hell of a story…_

_This must be a hospital _Brad deduced as he stared at the ceiling. He heard the clicking of footsteps come his way, though whoever made the sound was obscured by the curtain.. Brad raised his head carefully, so as not to aggravate his wound. As he waited, a tall man, perhaps six foot five, walked past the curtain. He wore green scrubs and was holding a chart in his left hand. The mysterious stranger held a pen in his right hand and efficiently jotted down noted as he examined a piece of paper on the front of Brads bed. His eyes noticed Brad.Putting his chart behind his back, he smiled and looked fully at Brad "Oh." He said "You're up" he gave Brad a quizzical look "How do you feel?"

Brad blinked "OK, I guess," He said, slurring the words as he went "S'just a little tired" He let his head rest back on his pillow.

"That would be the drugs." The Man said "Trust me, your better off with them" He looked down at his chart "Well, Mr. Carbunkle, do you think you could see some visitors?"

Brad looked straight ahead for a few moments, thinking. "Sure"

"All right, that's good. I'll go get them, and then the doctor will see you in a bit after that." The man in scrubs left, his footsteps clacking as he went.

_That wasn't the Doctor? _Brad lay alone in his bed for a bit. About a minute passed before Brad sat up. Then, he began to giggle.

"heh, Male nurse."

* * *

Oblivion, it would seem, was actually not that bad of a place to be.

Loki floated through the blank ether of what he guessed was the afterlife. It was funny really, he never thought there was an afterlife for AI constructs. It wasn't like he actually had a soul or anything, and even if he did this incarnation of himself wouldn't have one. The original Loki was just chilling back on earth, letting this copy screw with the cluster.

Loki glanced at the absolute nothing of his surroundings, bored. If this was the afterlife, it must have been purgatory, because while he wasn't in any extravagant pain, this wasn't exactly his cup of tea. Loki placed his virtual arms behind his head and let himself float down the current. He stopped.

He had just noticed that he was being pulled somewhere. Like a fish in a stream, he could feel the ether of the void tugging at him, pulling him inexorably to some distant place. Intrigued, Loki righted himself into a standing position.

He allowed himself to be pulled for a while, watching. Soon, he noticed tiny specks of darkness on the horizon. As Loki was drawn in farther, he began to recognize the shapes. _Well would you look at that _Loki thought _The computer systems trying to pull itself together, huh. I thought I trashed it pretty good. Not good enough it seems. _He looked around _So I'm not dead am I? Damn, I thought I would have been able to at least fry this ship. _He made a face _Ah those lucky bastards. Whoever's piloting this thing must be a fuckin' wizard. _

Loki looked thoughtful _Wait… _He thought as he rubbed his chin _If the systems pulling itself back together, then the ship wasn't totaled… And if this one wasn't totaled, the other ships probably were able to follow it in sub space… So that means that I probably didn't destroy any of them, I just flung them to god knows where in the universe… _Loki frowned _Aww damnit, being alive has never been so bitter-sweet._

_I better scram before they get everything together. _He cringed _Oh boy, I bet that AI I beat up to get in here is going to be gunning for me. _He looked around _But where am I going to Hide? _Loki Scrutinized the surroundings, floating gently back and forth between files. He stopped. _Oh this will be perfect! No one even used this. _He gently slipped into the wedge of the file. Taking a deep breath, he encrypted himself.

Loki disappeared into the Life Support routines, and vanished from the system.

* * *

Brad felt like he was choking, and in all reality, he was.

Jenny was hugging him tightly around the chest; her head buried scant centimeters from his head. "Brad, you're OK!" she exclaimed in joy and her grip tightened. In his personal view, Brad wasn't certain he would be if she kept on hugging him like that. He made a few gurgling noises as she compressed his chest, trying to decide whether it would be better to struggle and hurt his leg, or stay still and hope she let go before he blacked out.

Re-injuring his leg was looking better by the second. He ruminated about his decision at having a friend that could bend steel. With dismay, He found that he was ambivalent on the matter. As it was, he was mostly happy she was his friend, though severely disappointed at the current situation. Of course Brad didn't actually think about it that way. His own thoughts were somewhere along the lines of _Arrrgh! She's Crushing my Ribcage!_

Nora Wakeman put a hand on Jenny's shoulder "XJ9, let the poor boy go. He's turning purple" Her face was slightly reproachful, but altogether warm. There was a hint of a smile on Nora's face.

"Oh!" Jenny exclaimed as she let go of Brad, who fell back to his bed, wheezing grateful breaths. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Jenny said with her hands bent against her chest and rocking back on her heels. Cautiously, Brad propped himself up on his elbows, being careful not to jostle his leg unnecessarily. His eyes squinting against the light, he tried to get a good look at everyone in the hospital room.

He saw Jenny and her mother of course, Jenny still embarrassed from her over zealous hug and her mother giving a sort of half-smile at her. Brad noticed Sheldon standing off to the side. He looked nervous, but relieved. The sort of way someone looks after they just did a prank, satisfied, but also inherently afraid of reprisal. Brad was pretty sure that wasn't the reason though. Sheldon had as much of a chance of pulling off a prank as he had of suddenly becoming the Silver Shell.

It came as a surprise to him, but he could see Mr. McKinley over by the window. He leaned against the walls studying his nails. He looked over at Brad uninterestedly, nodded, and made a little gesture "Welcome back Sweater-Vest" he said in a scratchy voice.

Brad looked around at all his friends, and felt something lacking 'Hey" He said, surprised at how raspy his voice sounded "Where's Tuck? And my parents?" He appreciated all his friends being here, but the absence of his blood relatives was a little off-putting.

McKinley made a little noise, and utilized years of practice to make the sound contain the properties of something somewhere between "I don't know" and "I don't care". It sounded a little like "eeh." Nora gave McKinley a barbed look, and Jenny stomped her foot "Dad!" she said, exasperated.

Sheldon piped up between the confusion "There on their way Brad. They'll come as soon as the skyway patrol let them back into the city. We're only here because we brought you in really." He rubbed the back of his head, allowing unspoken guy communication fill the gaps in his speech. Brad gave a nod, completing the silent guy communiqué.

He looked back to the rest of the group. Coughing loudly to get the others attention, He made a puzzled face "All right. What was this about Dad that I heard?"

Scowling, Nora crossed her arms and made a "hrmph" noise, while Jenny blushed a bit, her face turning a light shade of blue. Sheldon had a look on his face that just screamed "not again" and hand on his forehead. McKinley however, let out a sharp bark of laughter.

McKinley pushed himself off the wall "It's a good story really, I'd tell you, but you look a little bit under the weather" He smiled, "Though she's only just called me 'Dad' just this moment. A little psychotic episode does wonders for family relationships doesn't it Jenny?" He placed a hand on top of Jenny's head, like he was going to rustle her hair.

"Dad!" Jenny said as she brushed him off, turning an even deeper shade of blue in the process. Brad likened the color to the sky. McKinley chuckled again, his chest reverberating under his coat.

"There I go, embarrassing my daughter. I guess I am a Dad after all." McKinley said, his mouth widening its smile as he chuckled. Offhandedly, his eyes caught Brads confused expression. Raising a gloved hand to his mouth, McKinley coughed "Right, back on topic." He fiddled with his scarf. "There are some very important things we need to talk about, Things that you will need to know about. Some might say these are the _only _things you need to know about. Some of these things however contain dark and terrible truths." He drew in a deep breath "So that's why Nora's going to tell you" He poked the elderly woman in the shoulder "Come on crone, you're up"

Nara rolled her eyes as she swatted the gloved hand away "Passing the buck James? How very like you." She moved closer to Brad and sat down at the side of his bed "Bradley" she began "We need to talk about what happened to you…"

Brad sat bolt upright "Is something wrong? Is something still in the wound? Will I never walk again?" Brad said, each in varying degrees of panic as his mind raced over every worse case scenario, some of which were particularly creative.

McKinley laughed "Smooth Nora" He ignored Jenny's exasperated comment this time.

Dr. Wakeman gave a look back at McKinley "Oh James, ever the one to point out others faults, but never actually able to do what he criticizes. I think even a shriveled old woman like myself is more of a Man than you are. Tell me, have your testicles dropped yet?" Her voice was dripping with contempt.

"Oh ho ho. You still have a little fight left in you don't you Nora? Now I suppose you might be more of a man than me, what with the whole moustache I see you're trying to grow, by the way it's very nice, but that would mostly be because I seriously doubt that you were ever, well, a woman"

As Nora prepared her counter argument, Brad stared in stunned silence. Seeing his confusion, Sheldon caught Brads attention with a tap on the arm "Don't be too concerned" Sheldon said to a befuddled Brad "They act like this all the time. I really haven't seen them talk any other way" He looked thoughtful "I think they might enjoy it"

Brad looked over at Sheldon "I don't care what you say" He said "This is still majorly weird." He scratched his head "So Jenny has a Dad?"

Sheldon nodded "Yeah, pretty weird huh?"

Brad smiled "I think it puts a whole new spin on that time I was taunting Jenny with _Don't stand so close to me._"

Sheldon laughed and snorted a little "Yeah, pretty much" He looked at Brads leg "Don't worry about the leg though; they're growing a new thigh for you. Isn't that cool?"

Brad looked at his own leg under the covers "A new one? That's pretty chill." He gave a smirk back at Sheldon "Thank god for stem cells right?"

Sheldon smirked back "I was going to say thank Venusian Biotech. Nora called in some favors. With that stuff in you the Doctors say you'll be walking within a week"

Brad weakly curled his ring finger and middle finger into his palm, secured them with his thumb, and extended his remaining fingers as he threw up the horns "Rock on" He said, smiling. He looked back at the two old people trading insults like champion fencers trade blows and Jenny doing her best not to be embarrassed. He turned back to Sheldon. "I don't suppose that you could tell me what happened"

Sheldon gave a nerdy smile "Sure Brad" He said with a little humor still in his voice.

* * *

"What's going on in there Doctor?" Vega asked a nearby mechanic as he passed down the colorless grey hallway, catching him by his metal collar and spinning him to face her.

The Mechanic was completely white, and the expression on his face looked worried, but mostly nervous. "Ah! My queen! I need to get down to the operating table, if that's fine with your grace. But I really need to get to the subject before he hurts himself" A clang and crash sounded from down a narrow hallway, causing the Doctor to wince. Vega looked at him tersely and let him go. Relived, the Doctor scuttled down the hallway with a skip and a jump.

Vega gave a sigh as she looked at her surroundings. This bunker she was in was a completely secure area under the castle. Originally it was going to be her hideout for the assassination attempt, but since the attack she had changed its focus. It had been easy to get loyal mechanics down here after the attack, what with all the sympathy in the air. Though it had been less easy to get them to agree to a partial mind wipe afterward. It couldn't be helped, the secrecy of this project must be maintained. She began walking down the hallway the Doctor had so quickly scuttled down with mechano-butterflies in her stomach. Her face quivered. She was nervous, perhaps even more nervous than the Mechanic had been. The difference between them however, was self control. She frowned. If no one would tell her, she would go find out herself.

She turned the corner to the hallway with a brusque step, pivoting on her heel. The hallway continued for somewhere around twenty meters where it stopped at a dull grey door. Vega strode toward it with purpose, still trying to fight down the fits of anticipation in her abdomen. Absent mindedly, she ran her hands down her skirt, almost as if she was trying to straighten it. Before she realized it, she was at the door.

She placed her hand on a nearby scanner and waited. With a chirp, the device turned green, and the door slid open. The revealed a room in front of her that was a stark and sterile white. Curtains hung from the ceiling obscuring most of the room, but they did nothing to muffle the sounds of struggle. A ringing clang echoed throughout the surroundings, followed by one voice shouting in panic while several others spoke in stressed voices, trying to calm the first. Vega moved cautiously through the curtains, careful not to bump anything. She pushed the last curtain out of the way.

On the floor, a male robot lay against the wall, his legs squirming underneath him as he tried to stand. He seemed almost unfamiliar with is legs, like a child. He held a scalpel in front of him as he warded off the four mechanics that surrounded him. His eyes darted back and forth like a wild animal as his free hand groped for something to hold on to. A bed was only a few meters away from him, and judging by the clutter around it, he must have fallen out only a few moments ago. In the corner, a mechanic nursed a vicious gash on his hand.

Physically, the robot was a warm and muted red and black, sporting in addition a synthetic head of hear. His skin was a milky off-white color, and his eyes were an orange hue as they darted around the room. His chassis was the standard humanoid structure, but it was obscured by a bulky metal covering, not unlike a coat. Vega watched the robot as he made feints and jabs at the medical staff trying to keep them at bay. Vega walked forward slowly, her hand reaching out slowly. "Jordan?" she said, uncertain.

The Robot looked like for had cleared from his eyes as he saw Vega for the first time. The Scalpel fell from his hands "Vega?" He said wearily, quaver in a voice so unlike J-40's. His arms went slack. The mechanics surrounding he tensed, as if preparing for some attack, and then relaxed. The robot raised up his hands, staring at them "Vega, what happened to me?" his voice quivered with fear

Vega moved closer, stepping past the bewildered doctors. She knelt next to the robot she knew to be J-40. "It's Ok Jordy, it's Ok" She took his hands in hers and moved them away from his face so she could look at him. She placed his hands on his lap, allowing her own hands to cover his. She looked into his eyes. "Jordan…" She began, "What do you remember?" She kept her face devoid of any bias. She hoped beyond hope that he remembered his life.

J-40 looked around the room, almost evasively. "I-I don't… I remember the lift…" His eyes stared past her, like they say something beyond her, through her. "And Gerzon… I threw you into the lift, and I… I fought him… And he, shot me… And… I remember crawling…" His eyes flared open "Oh my Cog. I _died_." Awed, He looked into Vega's eyes, then at himself, and then back at her. "You- You brought me back." He managed to whisper.

Vega gave a smile, it was warm. "I wish I could take all the credit for that Jordan, but I can't. You backed yourself up in a temperature terminal." Her smile widened "You saved yourself" She moved her hand to his shoulder "We tried to save your body, we really did. It was just too far gone though, completely wrecked." She sighed "And then there was your family."

J-40 looked confused "What about my family?"

Vega Stood up "Come on, lets get you in bed before we talk about this. Can you walk?"

J-40's legs wiggled around "No, I can't, I think. How do you people even _stand _with only two legs?"

Vega laughed "Come on you big baby, give me your arms" She grabbed him but the arms and strained. With a grunt she hoisted J-40 to his feet and let his arm drape over her shoulders, allowing him to lean on her.

J-40's new face crinkled into a smile "Shouldn't an orderly be doing this?"

"Yeah, But I think they are a little afraid of you now. You gave that one a nasty cut."

"Hey, not my fault. I woke in an unfamiliar area with a whole bunch on unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar body. I think I'm entitled to a few irrational acts."

Vega was smiling as she dropped J-40 into the steel bed "What you are entitled to is post-traumatic stress disorder. Funny, the doctors told me they edited that out."

J-40 lay down in his bed "In my experience, people say a lot of half-truths to the queen." He propped himself to a sitting position "And more often then not they say what she wants to hear"

"Was that how it was with you?" Vega asked as she pulled up a chair. She crossed her legs and folded her hands across her lap.

"Once, I think" J-40 said, scratching his head. He looked a little sheepish.

Vega raised a mechanical eyebrow "Really. When?"

"That, you have to guess" He raised his fingers to stall any questions. "But before you can, let's actually talk about something important. Like for example" His eyes narrowed slightly, taking on a serious bend "What were you going to say about my family?"

"Right, Down to business" Vega rubbed her arm "Listen, Jordan, things have changed since you were gone. Things aren't like you remember them"

J-40's face screwed up in confusion "How long was I out?"

"Around four months"

J-40 blinked. "Well…" He said, with levity in his voice "I must have missed quite a bit of the imperial court."

"No, you didn't miss a bit Jordan"

"Really?

"Mostly because it's now called the Senate"

"The Senate? As in a Republic Senate? What the hell happened?" J-40 sat up straight, his face full of shock. "Are you telling me the entire government restructured in four months?"

Vega gave a self satisfied smirk "Not four months really, I had people working on the plans for much longer than that. The Assassination attempt did wonders for my public image. Even enough to win enough support to form the first Cluster Republic." She waved her hand "Of course I still am the empress, but I only have a say in nation-wide matters. Well, that and supreme judicial power and the ability to veto any actions that change the state of affairs in the republic."

J-40 still looked stunned "Amazing… I never thought the Cluster would change _that _much. Still…" He shot a sly look at Vega "I can't help but notice that this change keeps nearly all of your political clout, but should give you nearly limitless free time"

Vega brought a hand to her face "Really? It must have slipped my mind" She was smiling. "Still, I couldn't have done it without you Jordan"

"Me? Why me?"

"You make a great martyr Jordan. A really good Martyr. So good in fact that your death can move even some of my more entrenched detractors. Or at least get them to do what I say for a while. You have an unrealized talent Jordan."

"For dieing gloriously, wonderful. But there's one problem with that, I'm not really dead." He looked at Vega questioningly.

"Right." Vega looked J-4 in the eyes "Jordan, you do know what the Path of Inheritance is, right?" She watched calmly as J-40's face twisted in revulsion

"What! You mean- My family- They still- They- They weren't going to have me rebuilt? All over some slotting inheritance!" J-40 burst out. His arms flailed for a bit in impotent rage as he seethed. Agression poured dromevery vent in a few, terrible seconds. He rolled his eyes to look at Vega "So I guess I'm legally dead, right?" Vega nodded slowly, silently. J-40 sighed. After a few strained seconds, he spoke "Thanks… For, you know, reviving me. The backup copy of myself wouldn't fly with the rest of my family, would it? They wouldn't have let me come back."

Vega shook her head silently "No, no they wouldn't. Trust me Jordan, If I could have made it happen… But I couldn't bring you back that way without loosing support." She let her head sink "I'm sorry"

J-40 lips tightened for a few seconds, and then let out a long breath "Politics as usual" he chuckled "You know, sometimes I think it would have been better to have just, never spoke up in court that day" He smiled ruefully "It certainly would have made things go smoother, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah…" Vega said, she paused "Jordan…" She left the first word hanging "Would you still do me a favor, as a friend?"

"Vega," J-40 said "I would die _again _for you if you wanted me to. No matter what happens."

Inside her chassis, Vegas heart melted "That's so sweet." She gave herself a mental shake. Now was not the time. "Jordan, things are brewing on the horizon. My rule may have seemed solid, but the assassination attempt forced me to really see my shortcomings." She took a deep breath "Before, I had thought I could use what had been left behind by my Mother. But as time goes on, I can tell what idiocy that was. A war is brewing Jordan. A dark and silent war. Soon, robots will begin to question my position in the empire, they will want to take what I have, and what all free robots have. I have no defense. I can trust no one in the court, no one except you." She put her index finger on his red chest plate. "Jordan, you are an invisible to the system now. You don't exist. And better yet, you have a keen mind and a gift for subterfuge. Jordan," She looked him straight in the eyes "I need you Jordan, to fill a spot left vacant in the wake of my Mother. I need you to be my Spymaster"

J-40 looked stunned "You, you want me to me a spymaster?" He blinked "There has to be a mistake. You can't really want to use me. I have no experience, I'm horrible with people. You can't really think this is a good idea."

"Jordan, I have nowhere else to turn. I know you can do this if you try." She clasped his hand in her own "Will you do this? For me?"

J-40 looked down at her hand for a long moment. He studied the delicate lines of her hand, and felt the gentle pressure of her grasp. He looked back into her eyes "Yes, I think I could get used to the idea" Vega smiled in relief as he continued talking "Though it's going to take a hell of a lot of work. I didn't even know the cluster _had _a formal spy network." He let his head back.

"Now" He asked, pulling away from Vega. "How do I walk with these spindles you people call legs?"

* * *

Somewhere in dead space, the universe split at the seams as a Hyperspace and reality blended together.

Bolts of multicolored energy ripped outward from the hole in both space in time, and dark silhouettes could be seen in the writhing maw. In what could only be described as a desperate flight, the silhouettes poured from the rend in the universe, falling out into the dark void of real space in haphazard patterns. Some were so unorganized that they collided with one another in their flight and combusted with silent but brilliant explosions that burned with deep purple flames as the gas inside them was consumed. The Cluster Armada poured through the crack in reality into this packet of unoccupied space. A battered cruiser led them like a beleaguered messiah. The _Talon _had led the Armada to freedom from the hell of Sub-Space.

On the bridge of the _Talon, _lights began to flicker into activity. Ozone was thick in the air, and even with the lights returning white hot sparks could be seen pouring from damaged consoles. Moans could be heard from various places as Drones and Command staff brought their systems back online. Slowly, the _Talon _came back into full operational capability.

In the flickering light of the _Talon, _the Cluster command 'bots began to come online again. Some had been knocked offline by the intense electro magnetic forces inherent in a Hyperspace jump. Others still had merely sustained massive blunt trauma when the inertial dampeners had failed. Among those incapacitated was Tatican, his face being smashed through a navigation consol where blue and white sparks flew intermittently.

Taticans operating system came back online in a blaze. His eyes burned yellow as they snapped open, and In his shock Tatican flung himself from the ruined consol. He lost his balance and fell on his back, allowing a reverberating clang to sound through the deck. Disoriented, Tatican rolled onto his stomach as glanced quickly around the room and surveyed the damage. Panic began to set in as he remembered what had happened only minutes ago, and the nightmare trip through hyperspace. All other priorities forgotten, he fumbled on his belt for a miniscule viewing device and with a few hastened taps he activated it.

It's screen flashed on in a haze of snowy static. With barely contained worry Tatican fiddled with several knobs and dials until the picture came through. Tatican peered through the device into the live video feed of medical bay 14, searching for his queen's body. Tatican let out a sigh of relief as he noted that inertial dampening had held in the medical bay. Medics staggered around shaken and putting out minor fires, but the structure on the bay remained undamaged. And most importantly the prone form of Vexus lay undisturbed on her cot, oblivious to her brush with disaster. To relieved for words, Tatican went limp and allowed his body to lay prone on the floor. He waited for a few, quiet moment. Then he took a deep breath, and collected himself.

Tatican pushed himself up from the floor where he lay coolly. With exaggerated dignity he flipped an errant hair back into place and sat in his command chair. He straightened his robe. With his voice like rust, he grunted out a command "Status report" Taticans fingers tapped on a ruined consol impatiently.

An Ensign Drone with an inordinately long gash on his right arm hurried to Taticans side, His face rigid and business like. The wound on his arm was purely superficial, Tatican noticed, though if it had been inflicted on an organic it would have rendered them a screaming ball of nerves. The Ensign saluted 'Sir! Presently we have just suffered a hyperspace jump error caused by a rogue AI along with the rest of the fleet. Computer systems are at 14 efficiency and we have damaged, but stable, Anti-matter containment in engineering. Currently we have lost fourteen ships including all personnel, and an additional 434 casualties spread amongst the remaining fleet, one of which on this ship, Sir."

_Nothing but a pittance, _Tatican thought _Not even worth noting in numbers. _He straightened his back "Out position in space Ensign?" His eyes narrowed "I want coordinates, _now_."

Seemingly unperturbed the Ensign continued "Sir, presently we are not able to pinpoint our position. It seems something has wiped our current Star charts. Consensus points to the rogue AI Sir. The Technical squad on deck twelve believes they can get the Data back in about four months Sir."

_These drones really get the most out of that hive mind don't they? _Tatican mused silently _Too bad it has such a detrimental effect on personal freedom. I might have considered linking with it again. _Still, he balled his fists "Stranded?" Tatican inquired in an icy voice 'That is… Sub-optimal." He said, carefully choosing his words. His blood red gaze locked onto the ensign. "A month you say?"

"Or more sir" The Ensign replied helpfully

Tatican looked at the ensign strangely, confused. "… Are you feeling alright ensign?" He wondered aloud

The Ensign looked thoughtful "Sir, I am duty bound to inform you that my emotion chip has been knocked offline at the moment. I am unaffected by your voice tones"

Tatican stared at him for a moment "I think I like you better this way ensign"

The Drone cocked its head "Sir, I do not believe we have met prior to this encounter"

"Really? Unfortunate, all of you drones seem to blend together"

"We are exact copies sir"

Tatican lowered his eyebrows as he rapidly became unamused at the droids responses. "Exactly"

Cocking its head to the other side, the drone ventured to speak "Sir? If I may relay a question?" Tatican nodded in the affirmative "95 of the collective is wondering at your lack of concern over medical bay 14 and the queen." The Ensign's head twitched "Now, 36 has withdrawn the question, and have instead submitted the initiative to terminate this particular unit. Calculating… 43 have sided with terminating this particular unit."

If Tatican had a mouth, he would have smirked. It wasn't every day you had a drone wounded enough to speak with the secret mind of the collective. The exchange was even enough to lighten the stress of this inconvenience. "Irrelevant" Tatican said, deigning to humor the damaged drone _Let no robot say I am not without humor _Tatican thought to himself. Clearing his throught, he spoke "I personally monitor the feeds from that medical bay. I am already apprised of the situation" He rubbed his chin "But now I am presented with a difficult trial" his voice lowered.

"Sir?" the ensign inquired

Tatican stood and moved to the railings between the view screen and the deck. He turned back to face the Ensign "Why, the question now is how I convince the queen it is not in our best interests to seek revenge."

'Sir, that statement seems illogical. It would be a statistically viable option to retake the earth. Preliminary surveys place it with a particularly weak military and abundant exploitable resources."

Tatican raised a clawed finger "Statistically perhaps, but tactically? Never. We need to consolidate our losses and withdraw to a fortified position. From there we can plan attacks against targets before the chaos of the Child Queen's reign settles. Origionally I had hoped to secure the nebula in hopes of using it as a striking platform, but that plan is quickly becoming an impossibility. Time is of the essence, and we cannot afford to waste it pursuing mad dreams of revenge"

"They are not really dreams of revenge sir. They are more like impulses"

He looked long and hard at the Drone. "I think," Tatican began 'I am beginning to enjoy this perspective of yours. For a Drone so mouthy, your etiquette is impeccable"

The drone stared straight ahead "I am merely reporting the subconscious will of the collective"

Taticans right eyebrow raised in amusement "Of course" He paused for a moment "Get the technical squad working on the computers at once. I want this ship and the entire fleet running inside a month. In addition, inform the group commanders that Authorization Beta 16e is in effect, and I expect results befitting of it." He looked out into the void "Afterward ensign, I want you to have the Medical staff bring the Queen to my observation bay after she revives. I will be there momentarily" The Ensign saluted brusquely and left, chittering to the collective in binary as it went.

Tatican watched over the damaged bridge with impassive eyes. _It was a clever attack _He thought _Clever and well executed. I wouldn't have expected it from this planet of monkeys. Unfortunate, but to be expected in such a high profile skirmish. Acceptable losses, but he could have killed us all though. _His eyes narrowed _And now I need to explain why I won't be exacting vengeance. _He put his head in his hands _Cog I hope she listens. I don't want a repeat of Gallantus. That campaign just dragged on and on. _Behind his mouth plate, gears began to clench _If I ever do return to that planet though… _He blinked hard as her caught himself _No! I will not succumb to petty revenge. I am a Commander of the Cluster, I am beyond that. I am steel, unbendable._ Tatican stared into his palms and the let them fall around his body. He sighed. _Damnit, I need an excuse for Vexus._

This was going to be perhaps, he thought, His least favorite encounter with the queen.

* * *

Jenny sat on a hill high above Tremorton, overlooking the sun as it set over Tremortons tiny skyline. She had her legs drawn against her chest and her hands across her legs. Glinting brightly, her eyes looked out at the setting sun and just thought. Wind blew quietly over the hill, and if Jenny could have felt, she would have been pleased by its warmth. She leaned forward, drinking in the vista.

One of her pigtails whirred up sharply as a twig broke in the distance. Someone was walking up the hill. She could tell from her audio receptors that whoever it was male, six feet and two inches, and strangely weighed four hundred pounds. She let out a sharp breath. "Hello James"

"James now? You just called me Dad a couple of hours ago" McKinleys gravely voice said sardonically. Jenny could hear him walk up behind her. McKinley sat down next to her with a grunt and a faint whir of metallic muscle. He brushed his coat out from behind him as he sat. He made a gruff noise in his throat. "So… it's a hell of a view isn't it?"

Jenny gave McKinley a sidelong look, frowning "What do you want?"

McKinley's grin began to fade "I just came up here to… Well to see if you were Ok" He shuffled about "Listen, I don't normally do this. I never really had a reason to ever really want anyone to like me, I am, I like to think, Independent. But…" He paused for a few seconds "I had always wished my own father had been there for me when I was growing up, or at least have been there like the other fathers had been. Not drunk, showing up every time he needed a place to stay. And I look at you and… Jenny…" McKinley's lower lip screwed up "God damn it. I can't even say what I planned to." He began laughing "Have you ever had that happen when you plan something and it never goes down exactly like you wanted it to" He noticed Jenny's impassive face "Right… O guess its not that funny." He looked down at his feet. "Jenny, I know I must seem like a stranger to you, but I really want to help. I can understand if you don't like me, but won't you at least let me help you?

Jenny studied his face. He was scruffy and tough, like old jerky. His beard was untrimmed and grew at odd angles, allowing the grey in it to glint marvelously in the sun. The wrinkles around his face were bunched around his eyes like a massive interconnected spider web. His expression was a strange blend of hope and fear. She thought to herself, about what he had said and about who he was. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a light push "You know" She said, smirking "Usually it's daughters who need to win acceptance from their fathers not the other way around" She raised her eyebrow "Maybe Moms right. Maybe you _are _a woman"

McKinley burst out laughing. It was a deep belly laugh, and as it sounded over the hill, Jenny began to catch its infectious quality. They laughed together, the sounds of their voices intermingling amongst the trees. After a few moments the laughter dies down to a chuckle. Wiping away a tear McKinley spoke between his chuckles " Well, it's good to know you actually have a sense of humor" He flicked away the tear "Even if it is only use to injure me"

Jenny flashed a smile "Ah quit your whining"

McKinley's face split into an even wider grin "Now that's the sort of thing I want to hear." He put his hand on Jenny's shoulder "So." He began conversationally "How has your life been so far? I only got the bare bones of it from Nora. It couldn't have been too terribly exiting though, seeing as I wasn't actually in there"

Jenny let out a quick laugh "Sure, It was terribly boring" She said with sarcasm. Brushing off some dirt from her knee, she looked back over the town of Tremorton."It all really started when this one boy hit a baseball through Moms window…"

As They both sat their, telling and listening, Jenny wondered about the future. She couldn't be certain if she would ever get to know this strange man, or if he would ever get to know her. All she knew was that he was trying. She couldn't be certain of what the future would hold.

But with the help of her friends, she knew she wouldn't have to face it alone.

THE END

* * *

And that, Ladies and Gentleman, is the end of a Fanfic. But stick around; we have an epilogue coming up, something special for those people who like to satyafter the credits. Speaking of which, if this did have credits I's like to think that Rattatat's _seventeen years _would be playing. Oooh, Spooky!

Damn, you do not know how good it feels to get this off my chest. I've been working on this for the last month, and finally finishing it is, indescribable. It's not that I don't enjoy the writing, but it being finished is just so very sweet. I expect when I actually get the epilogue up I will actually feel even better.

I'd just like to take this time to thank everyone who stuck through till then end. You're really troopers. Even some of those God awful chapters didn't scare you off, I'm impressed. And I really hope your as satisfied as me. I couldn't have forced myself to write like this if it hadn't been for your persistent specter haunting me. What with me being hungry for approval and all.

Now it's time for the apology. I'm really sorry I did exactly,_ update_, on time. I just had some very important things to do CoughPutthingsuponDeviantartCough that really took up quite a bit of time. And then there were the California fires (I live in California by the way) Also, I am really sorry for the previous chapters quality. I had no excuse, but what is don is done.

On another note, W00t! Longest chapter yet! I am to have this story be precisely 60001 words long by the end of all of this, and I hope I die if I don't. I feel that strongly on the subject.

But hey, you may ask, this chapter ends sort of abruptly dosent it Wizard? Almost like you were planning something, You might say. And I confess, I am. I hope to continue with these characters for quite a while now people, so strap yourself in and get ready for a ride. Though the other stories will be significantly shorter on average, Perhaps only 20 or 30 thousand words. I even have the next story brewing around up in my head. Can't tell you the title though, that would be cheating. I can, however, tell you that the Epilogue will be an extended dialogue Between Tatican and Vexus.

I'm not going to beg for reviews this time. You can just give them out as you choose. I would hang around and think of something particularly witty to say, but me and the weighted companion cube need to go and get that Cake and grief counseling.

Man, I really hope the cake isn't a lie. That would suck


	10. Epilogue

Ties of Blood, Ties of Oil

A "My life as a teenage robot" Fanfic

Epilogue:

A Discussion in the dark

"I trust you find the wine adequate?" Taticans rust like voice said tentatively in the starlight

As the starlight from space filtered in through the translucent glass of Taticans personal observational deck, the _Talon _gently drifted through the void of space. Small rocks and asteroids could be seen through the clear glass giving, what Tatican thought was, the perfect dining ambiance. Tatican waited on his observation deck with well contained anxiety, his metal frame resting in a particularly Spartan chair. With nervous eyes he watched the ionicly charged lubricant, a concoction known to cause a mild inebriation in robotic life forms, swirl gently in its glass before it was brought to ruby lips.

Across from Tatican, Vexus lounged in a plush couch, allowing her hand to rest on a blood red cushion as she took a long sip of her wine. Tatican watched her, enthralled. His eyes drifted across her curvaceous body and drank in her supple hips. He followed the design of her new form fitting armor, letting himself get lost in the elegant stripes and lines. Inevitably, his eyes traveled to her face as she drank. He could see everything. Her perfect skin, the alluring, half lidded expression she wore as she tasted the wine, the slightest glimpse of her tongue. Inside his chest, Tatican felt a fire burning. Subconsciously, he shifted his arm closer to his chest. He thanked whoever his designer might have been for his expressionless face as he felt the burning in his chest begin to rise.

"Mmmmm" Vexus sighed as she set down her wine glass, a contented smile on her face "For a robot that doesn't drink Tatican, you have an uncommonly good selection in wines" He voice was a throaty purr which set relays in Tatican ablaze. She let her index finger run along the rim of her crystal glass, causing it to gently sing. "Did you know this was my favorite year?"

"Really?" Tatican said, surprised "I never would have thought it" A small voice spoke inside him, whispering _I've known since I met you my queen. I've known_. He tilted his head genially "I guess we were lucky to have it on the ship" _Very lucky that I've had that wine on this ship just for this occasion for the last three hundred years. _He cleared his throat "There are things we need to talk about my queen…" His voice was terse and businesslike even while his insides writhed within him.

Vexus gave him a long, uninterested look "About my daughter I suppose?"

Tatican twitched a micrometer at her unexpected response. He had expected her to ask about the XJ9. 'Yes. My queen, as of Galistandard date 06-"

Vexus raised her hand in dismissal "Feh. I know this Commander" She raised an thin, perfectly crafted eyebrow. "You mistake me for one of your fool subordinates. I took the queenly liberty of downloading all the relevant information" She studied her metallic nails "And I have to say, you've gotten into quite a quandary, have you not?"

"It is salvageable. A minor setback at the most" Tactican replied quickly, gesturing with his right hand as if to mitigate the failure.

Vexus gave a short laugh "Hmmmm? Is that so" She knit her fingers together "I've known soldiers that would have deserted in times like this. Of course-" She smiled a wicked grin "Not for very long of course, with the executions and all." She looked back at Tatican "But I'm not exactly sure weather it is loyalty or hubris that keeps you here"

The little voice inside Tatican whispered again _Devotion. _He shrugged "A combination of the two I would say my queen."

Vexus gave a smirk "Always the jester, aren't you Commander? You're lucky I am such an understanding person. Others might have seen that as insubordination"

"You are certainly not 'others' my Queen. It would be a travesty to even think you would be capable of such a short sighted judgment"

"Ah, I forgot about your silver tongue as well" Vexus took another sip of wine

"Really? I was under the impression I wasn't built with any tongue at all. Have you brought me one?" Tatican said with a dry voice, a chuckle building in his throat. It was hard to contain his levity with her around. It was hard to contain _anything _while she was around.

Vexus gave an amused giggle. Tatican liked to think it sounded like a purr. "And such a flippant attitude… Tell me, where did you get such bravery. I certainly don't remember you having it when you left"

"They say separation makes the heart grow fonder. Perhaps it is something similar"

"Really?" Vexus set down her wine lightly "Separation makes the mind grow impudent then? I would believe it to be true if it weren't for Smytus. I saw him every day and he was as disagreeable as ever." She looked thoughtful. "Speaking of which, where is he? I wouldn't expect him to miss out on an attempt to grovel."

Tatican coughed, allowing the lie to slide out easily, like oil "Unfortunately Commander Smytus received irreparable damage after he was found my Queen, and cannot be revived"

"Really? I suppose it's just as well, I think I would have had to kill him anyway. Really, it's just hard to find good help anymore"

"That would mostly have been my fault your grace. When I gave Smytus his command I had expected better of him"

"I think it was mostly Smytus' fault. Still, it is a pity, I could have found a use for him"

"Yes, Of course. He was a useful tool"

Vexus gave a raised eyebrow "Do you have something to say Tatican?" She said with a vaguely suspicious tone

"Oh, of course not my queen." Tatican responded calmly, pushing the first vestiges of panic deep down inside himself.

"Really…" Vexus took another sip of wine before changing the subject "But enough about that fool. Tell me Commander, how will you retake my Empire?" There was a sort of smug tone at the very end of the question.

If he could have smiled, Tatican would have been grinning"Ah, that is something I have no need to be glib about. Take a look, if it would please you, at this star chart here." With a few adroit taps on the side of his chair, a comprehensive map of known space was projected between them. He raised his hand and began pointing to several bright lights on the map. "Notice the position of the red globes, and the green globes. The red globes indicate our massed forces, and installments that are exclusively loyal to you my queen. The red, as you might guess, are those who hold hostile stances toward us."

Vexus put her hand to her chin. She cocked an eyebrow "We look outnumbered, don't you think?"

Tatican raised a single finger "But not outgunned. And the numerical advantage begins to lessen when you take into account the recently succeeded Confederacy" He waved his hand across a portion of the map, transmuting several red globes into bright orange spheres"Which effectively divides our opposition"

Vexus tapped her fingers together "Good, good. Tell me; is the rest of the empire aware of our presence?"

"Only vaguely. They are certain that we exist, and that we are somewhere in space. They do not know however, that we have a true queen onboard." Tatican himself wasn't certain if this was a concrete tactical advantage, but rather a political one. He knew that is was a massive advantage for him though, though he might not really be an objective judge.

Vexus grinned "As glad as I am about that, how do you expect to go about your invasion? I wouldn't expect a hail of fire from you. From what I have been told you have become much more, _subtle_" She let the last word out in a silky sigh.

The fire inside Tatican heated, but he shoved it back down to a low burn. You say stupid things when you aren't thinking clearly "Well, I would like to think that I have mellowed with age. After all, Experience and trickery always triumphs over youth and energy."

Vexus gave a sardonic grin "…So they say"

"Ah, yes… Well, I propose quick and violent attacks under radio silence on these three bases in the horse head nebula.' Tatican continued "Strategically it can be used for the numerous stable hyperspace routes that honey comb that sector, some of which lead directly into Cluster space. At the moment they are rogue military factions and will neither be missed by the Confederacy or the Republic"

Vexus frowned "Republic? What idiocy is this?"

Tatican stumbled, unsure "My queen, I thought you had known. The Former Empire of the Cluster, not ten days ago, has become the first trans planetary republic in this sector." His voice had a bit of a quaver in it "This is disturbing to you?"

Vexus' face curled into a snarl "Idiot. Of course it's disturbing. It is the first time the Cluster Hegemony has been broken, the first time it has changed." Her hand tightened around the crystal glass, eliciting a spidery cracking noise "The Cluster has remained a Monarchy for ages, and now all that Tradition is _gone_. It's like Ve-" She stopped before she could say her Daughters name, and instead spat out "_She _just spat on the honor of every ruler before her. On _me! _Her own mother! How could she betray me like that!" The Wine glass shattered in her hand, splattering wine all across her body. Vexus let a scream of rage tear from her throat as she flung the broken shards of against a wall. The slivers of the glass bounced scattered about the room, soon to be forgotten.

Tatican sat a still as a statue as his queen raged. He knew of her passion and he knew of her rage, but even after all this time he could not gaze upon it and be humbled. It was like staring at a hurricane, awe inspiring. He was at a loss. What could he do in the face of this? As she spat and fumed, his mind raced. "It's going to be fine Vexus…" he said, as soothingly as he could manage, painfully aware of his grating voice. Then he did something he had never dared to do.

He reached out to touch her

As Taticans hand reached across toward her, Vexus snapped her own hand up and allowed her shapely fingers to wrap around Taticans middle and ring fingers. With an expert twist of her wrist, she propelled herself to her feet while driving Tatican to his knees in shock. A gasp escaped his lips as he landed heavily on his knees, the electric danger messages from his fingers were screaming. With a Snarl like a big cat Vexus half pushed, half threw Tatican into his chair and onto his back, denting the chair and floor as she did. Her voice was thick with rage "Don't you dare touch me. Don't you even fucking say my name! What do any of you army boys know about betrayal?" She grabbed Tatican by his chest plates, bringing him directly in front of her "Well, fucking speak up! It hasn't stopped you before!"

Tatican looked into her eyes, so full of hurt and rage. He was disgusted with himself. Disgusted that he wasn't thinking clearly, disgusted that he tried something so forward.

Disgusted that he had hurt her.

Calmly, slowly, deliberately, he moved her arms away from him. He regained his footing. With cold eyes, he looked back at Vexus, and spoke in a low, somber voice "I know enough Your Grace, I Know enough." He raised his head slightly "I apologize for my earlier statement. It was rude and far too familiar. I can only hope for your forgiveness." He studied his queen. She was so full of rage, so full of life. He couldn't ever imagine wanting to be her enemy, or ever be in her distain. He couldn't even imagine the child queen wishing such a fate. Tatican gambled with fate again "…Much like your daughter must hope for" he said, putting in as much sincerity as he could muster.

Vexus gave a bitter bark of a laugh "You think she wants forgiveness?"

Taticans eyes glowed in a softer light, aware he had struck a soft spot within his queen. In his softest voice he said in nearly a whisper "I know she does my queen, she is still your daughter. And you…" He sighed "…are still her mother"

Vexus sat down in her couch heavily, a thoughtful and somber expression on her face. Quietly, she stated with finality "Leave me Tatican, I wish to be alone" He gaze looked beyond him, past him, as if she was seeing something far away.

Tatican bowed silently and exited the observation deck, the doors whirring behind him. Composed and calm, he continued the trek to his quarters in elegant steps. He quickly locked the door and moved to a large, black chair in the corner of his quarters. With a heavy soul, he sat in the dark cushions and thought.

In the darkness of the room, the only sounds to be heard were his quiet sobs.

* * *

And that, my friends, is the very end of this Fanfic. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was a labor that I happen to love. A labor of love if you will. Reviews are still welcome about this ending chapter, and now for even the entire story. I am a little sorry I have to end it on such an Emo note. Ah well, technically I ended it back in Chapter nine, and that was plenty happy. On another note, some of you might be happy to know that this is the only piece of fiction I have ever worked to completion. It is quite a revelation, I assure you. Also, I don't seem to have exactly 60,001 words. Oh well, I break promises all the time and it is just too damn late to type another 700 words. This is however, quite a long single exchange.

Oh the words… So many of them… so cold…

So I am going to be doing another FanFiction in about a week or so (Probably sooner, the muse usually gets me pretty hard when I stat new things. It's finishing them that is hard) And this one is going to focus on Sheldon and Jenny, rather than my OC's (A necessary evil unfortunately for the stories I want to tell. I had to get there personalities hammered out in this story, but now that I have they will have a less prominent focus. Not to say that they won't be important, but I won't often focus on them) I have always liked Sheldon, and Jenny _is _the titular character, so I thought it would be good to work with them.

The New Fanfic is going to be titled "Do Robotic girls dream of Nerdy boys?" (A homage to Philip K. Dick) and is going to be a Alice in Wonderland esque psychological adventure. There will probably be light romance, but nothing major. What Can I say? I haven't got a good enough hold on the characters yet to have a really good romance story.

I'm certain it will be shorter than this story, primarily because it will not focus on juggling three different plotlines. Just the one. As a result we can expect shorter, but better edited and written chapters. Just one of the perks of a short story I guess.

Oh, and Dr. Madwoman? I hope I put the whole Tatican being Vegas father thing to rest. No, Tatican just has a crush on Vexus and Stalker esqu tendancies (The funny thing is, for all his military skill and might, he's actually rather shy and bad with women. Go figure huh?) We won't actually get to see any really Vexus political maneuvering for a while though (Perhaps the Fic after the next one) But I can definitely say I'm looking forward to it. I see great things in her future, great things indeed.

Also, I'm thinking about starting every chapter with a quote now. Do you think that will work? Cause I think it might be pretty classy.

And Before I go, I'd just like to thank anyone even reading this. Your all super cool. Perhaps even awesome. I really hope some of you follow me over to the next story, but you know what? Do whatever you feel like.

If you are curious to my sporadic update schedule however, check out my DeviantArt page. I CAN HAS ARTS!

…woah… Was I speaking in Lolcats?

…

I think I need to go lie down


End file.
